january-2019

36 / TRAVEL / Facts
Jomo Kenyatta International
Airport achieved Category One
status, the top security rating,
in 2018.
Parking
Kenya Airways’ 787 Dreamliner
automatically adjusts its wing control
surfaces for a smoother ride during
turbulence.
At the parking bay/apron
engineers add service
oil and do the required
technical checks.
The chocks prevent
the aircraft from moving
while it’s parked.
The parking surface is
made from asphalt or
concrete, which can
withstand any temperature.
The area outside the terminal building where aircraft
stop is called the “ramp” or “apron”. “Aircraft are
parked, (un)loaded, serviced for the next flight,
refuelled and checked for routine maintenance at
the ramp,” says Kenya Airways Captain Dhaval Patel.
The crew calls this area the “parking bay”, while
passengers know it as the “gate”.
“Each airport has a specific procedure for directing
an aircraft towards its assigned gate,” says Patel.
“The ground controller, in coordination with air traffic
control, usually assigns the aircraft an address,
consisting of a ‘street’ or ‘highway’ (taxi lane) and
‘house number’ (gate) the pilots should take. In
addition to the ground signals, signs and air traffic
control instructions, we use an airport layout map,
either in paper or electronic format, to locate the
parking bay.”
Once the aircraft has come to a halt, the ground
crew secures the “chocks” around the wheels,
which prevent accidental movement once the pilots
release the aircraft’s parking brake.
If the aircraft is parked facing the terminal building,
or if it’s in an area where engines cannot be started
(because of the hazards associated with the
exhaust gases), the aircraft is pushed back by a
tow-tug. If it’s parked nose out, away from obstacles
or the terminal building, the aircraft will “taxi” (drive)
to the runway.
text: Annette Lavrijsen image: Getty Images