Airport Equipment and Supplies Key Terms

Familiarize yourself with the vocabulary of airport equipment and supplies

By Lisa Maloney

Airports, when considered as a whole, have many moving parts. Aside from the planes themselves, there are vehicles to refuel and load or unload, lights to guide in and out of the airport, and security equipment. This list of key terms will help you become familiar with some of what goes on in airports.

Runway lighting

The proper runway lighting is essential to help pilots differentiate between the long, flat stretch of an interstate highway or the proper landing space that is a runway. For this reason civilian airports are designated by green and white rotating beacon lights, while runways and taxiways are designated by a series of fixed lights of different colors.
Try: Virtual Skies gives a detailed explanation of how runways are lit at the end of the airport design tutorial page.

Biometrics security

Biometrics security devices include facial recognition software and hardware, retinal and iris scanners, and fingerprint readers. Think of biometrics airport security devices as machines trained to recognize humans. They're a vital part of modern security and anti-terrorism efforts.
Try: findBIOMETRICS.com explains the evolution of biometric iris scanners and how they've been used in airports.

Behavioral screening security equipment

Instead of your typical metal detector or X-ray machine, behavioral screening security equipment is used to measure your body's biological response to certain stimuli, thus revealing unconscious attitudes that might reveal a terrorist.
Try: CNN.com examines some of the cutting edge behavioral screening security equipment being used in Israeli airports.

Airport management software

Airlines manage and schedule their own comings and goings, subject to the approval of the airport management proper, through complex management and logistics software systems.
Try: Sabre Airline Solutions is a Texas-based software company that details how its management software serves airlines both large and small, while explaining the demands placed on such software by airport operation.

Full-body scanners

Full-body scanners or full-body X-ray machines use radio waves to paint a virtual picture of an airline passenger's naked body. While the intention is to highlight both metal and non-metal objects that may be dangerous, the machines have raised a furor of complaints about passengers' civil rights being violated by a virtual strip search.
Try: 10connects.com of Tampa Bay, Florida reports on the addition of a full-body scanner to the Tampa airport, how it works, and the reactions it provokes.

Baggage tractors and belt loaders

Airports host a variety of small mobile vehicles that move about the tarmac performing specific functions. Typically vehicles run on gasoline, but some electrics models are being introduced in an effort to be more environmentally friendly.
Try: Autoblog Green discusses how airport vehicles, including baggage tractors and belt loaders, are being converted to or replaced by electrical models in some airports.