1 Airport codes

Next to a standard name, almost every single airport has two codes, one IATA and one ICAO code. The IATA (International Air Transport Association) code is a three-letter code that is not too hard to link with the airport name itself. For example, the code BRU stands for Brussels Airport (Belgium). Most passengers are familiar with the codes of the airports they frequently fly to, as this code is printed on your boarding ticket. The IATA updates these codes three times a year and publishes them for use by pilots and airports.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:20_airtransportation_inv.svg

However, the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) code is much more important when it comes to air traffic control. The ICAO code of an airport consists of 4 letters, that all have a special meaning. The first letter refers to the geographical zone the airport is located in, such as an E for Northern Europe, K for the US, F for Southern Africa, etc. The second letter refers to the country, and is usually the first letter of that country. And last but not least, the third and fourth letters refer to the airport itself. Let’s take a look at the Brussels Airport example again. The ICAO code of Brussels Airport is EBBR. The E stands for Northern Europe, the B for Belgium and the BR for Brussels. These codes are always used by pilots and air traffic controllers over the radio and are much lesser known by the public.

2 Airspaces

The airs that we breathe and that aircraft fly through is divided into seven airspace classes, from A to G. Classes F and G are uncontrolled and can be flown in freely, without any interference of air traffic control. The other airspace classes do have certain restrictions. The severity of rules increases from E to A. Generally, these airspaces have a starting and an ending height that may differ between countries. For example, class A airspace in the US contains all the airspace between 18,000ft and 60,000 ft.

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ae/KIAH_Tower.jpg

All these airspaces are controlled by air traffic control, or ATC, that are generally located in the airport tower. To make things a bit easier (or more complicated?), there are four different ATCs determinable. There is Ground Control, Tower Control, Approach and Departure Control and Central Control.

- Ground Control is responsible for directing airplanes on the ground, for example taxiing to gates or refuelling ramps.
- Tower Control gives aircraft landing or departure clearance.

- Approach and Departure Control guides aircraft making a landing approach and aircraft that have just taken off.

- Central Control controls the aircraft that are at cruising altitude and attributes them a flight level.

3 Runways

Every runway (or airstrip) is attributed a number. This number refers to the geographical orientation of that runway. If you are given a number, add one zero and know how many degrees the airstrip is orientated. For example, runway 09 would refer to a runway that has an orientation of (0)90 degrees, and therefore point East. When an airport has parallel runways, the left runway has an L added to the number and the right runways an R.

These numbers (that vary between 00 and 36) are used by ATC and pilots, as they clearly point out in what direction the pilot will have to be flying to make a landing approach. Also, airports only use a runway in one direction, the side that is pointed into the wind. This is done to maximize the lift generated by the aircraft’s wings.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Runway_diagram.svg

4 Landing lights

Airports use a wide array of lights to guide aircraft. First of all, there are the standard green lights at the start of the runway and red lights at the end of the runway. Some airports also have blue lights at both sides of their taxiways. Apart from those, there are many other lights that help pilots find the right approach, but the most amazing of those is VASI (for Visual Approach Slope Indicator). VASI consists of four (or three) lights that can go red or white. When an aircraft is on an approach toward the runway, radio waves are sent toward it. This way, VASI can determine the glide slope of the plane, and calculate whether the plane is going to miss the runway, land too early, or, hopefully, have exactly the right glide slope and land safely.

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/VASI2_E.jpg

The glide slope is signalled to the pilot by those four lights. When two lights are white and two are red, the plane is on a perfect glide slope and does not need to change its vertical attitude. Four red lights mean the plane is descending too fast and will touch ground short of the runway. Four white lights however, mean that the plane is not descending enough and will pass the runway without touching down. These signals are a great help for pilots. The system was originally developed on aircraft carriers, where oncoming jets need to have the exactly correct glide slope to hit the braking cables.

Pilots often use mnemonics to remember the three different signals, such as: “Red over white, you’re all right.” “Red over red, you’re dead.” “White over white, you’ll fly all night.”

5 Runway records

The longest runway in use by public is at Qamdo Bangda Airport in China and has a length of 18,045ft.

The widest runway is located in Russia at Ulyanovsk Vostochny Airport and has a width of 344ft.