![]() Throw in security concerns that arose after the Sept. And pilots and other crew members need runways, aircraft fuel, air traffic information, facilities for aircraft storage and maintenance, and places to relax while on the ground. Air-freight companies need space for loading and unloading cargo airplanes. ![]() Airlines need space for airplanes, facilities for routine maintenance, jet fuel and places for passengers and flight crews while on the ground. In addition to those activities, airports must also provide the resources necessary to care for a fleet of commercial aircraft. ![]() And various municipal-like departments handle administrative duties, ranging from human resources and public relations to legal and finance. Police and fire squads protect life and property. Waste removal crews collect trash from airport facilities and airplanes. A governing body provides strategic direction and oversees day-to-day management. In many ways, a modern airport operates like a city. That's a lot of planes, a lot of passengers and a lot of airport personnel to make sure everything runs smoothly. ![]() Moving those people to their ultimate destinations requires 34 different airlines, which collectively make up the airport's 2,500 daily arrivals and departures. That's almost 20 times the number of people living in Atlanta itself and the same number of people living in a sizable country, say Ethiopia or Vietnam. For example, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport handles nearly 100 million passengers a year. "The Memory Trap," an espionage thriller by British author Anthony Price, contains this wry quote about airports: "The Devil himself had probably re-designed Hell in the light of the information he had gained from observing airport layouts." Whether you agree with Price or not (we suppose some people might find Heaven in the frenetic hub of their favorite airline), the observation captures the essence of the modern flying field: its complexity, its immensity and, of course, its density of people.Īny major airport has lots of customers, most of them passengers. ![]()
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