The airport apron, apron, flight line, ramp, or tarmac is the area of an
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
where
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. ...
are parked, unloaded or loaded, refueled, boarded, or maintained.
Although the use of the apron is covered by regulations, such as lighting on vehicles, it is typically more accessible to users than the
runway
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
or
taxiway. However, the apron is not usually open to the general public, and a permit may be required to gain access. An apron's designated areas for aircraft parking are called ''aircraft stands''.
By extension, the term ''apron'' is also used to identify the air traffic control position responsible for coordinating movement on this surface at busier airports. When the aerodrome control tower does not have control over the apron, the use of the apron may be controlled by an ''apron management service''
(''apron control'' or ''apron advisory'') to provide coordination between the users. Apron control allocates aircraft parking stands (
gates) and communicates this information to
tower or ground control and to
airline handling agents; it also authorises vehicle movements where they could conflict with taxiing aircraft such as outside of painted road markings.
The authority responsible for the aprons is also responsible for relaying to ATC information about the apron conditions such as water, snow, construction or maintenance works on or adjacent to the apron, temporary hazards such as birds or parked vehicles, systems failure etc.
[ Procedures should be established for a coordinated information provision between the aircraft, vehicle, apron control unit and ATC to facilitate the orderly transition of aircraft between the apron management unit and the aerodrome control tower.]
The apron is designated by the ICAO
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international ...
as not being part of the maneuvering area but included in the movement area
A maneuvering area (or manoeuvring area in British spelling) is that part of an aerodrome to be used by aircraft for takeoff, landing, and taxiing, excluding aprons and areas designed for maintenance of an aircraft.
Movement area
A movement a ...
.[ ''Aircraft stand taxilanes'' (providing access to aircraft stands) and ''apron taxiways'' (taxi routes across the apron) are located on the apron.][ All vehicles, aircraft and people using the apron are referred to as ''apron traffic''.][
]
Other terms
Flight line
The US military typically refers to the apron area as the ''flight line''.[
]
Tarmac
The apron at airports is sometimes informally called ''the tarmac'',[ even though most of these areas are paved with ]concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most ...
, not tarmac. Specific materials used include asphalt concrete
Asphalt concrete (commonly called asphalt, blacktop, or pavement in North America, and tarmac, bitumen macadam, or rolled asphalt in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland) is a composite material commonly used to surface roads, parkin ...
(which itself is often inexactly called "tarmac", adding to the confusion), porous friction course, and Portland cement concrete.
Ramp
In the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, the word ''ramp'' is an older term for an area where pre-flight activities were done; an ''apron'' was any area for parking and maintenance. Passenger gates are the main feature of a terminal ramp. The word ''apron'' is the ICAO and FAA terminology (the word ''ramp'' is not), so the word ''ramp'' is not used with this meaning outside the US, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
, the Maldives
The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives,, ) and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is a country and archipelagic state in South Asia in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about from the A ...
, and the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. IATA cites ''ramp'' as an equivalent term to ''apron''.[ For ]seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
s, a ''ramp'' is used to access the apron from the water.[
]
See also
* Pavement Classification Number (PCN)
* Hardstand
References
External links
*
Challenges to airport ramp and runway debris control
{{Authority control
Airport infrastructure