Pre-planning of Passenger Boarding Bridges

As communicated in a <link www.brusselsairport.be/pressroom/brussels-airport-invests-52-million-to-equip-pier-b-with-new-boarding-bridges/ - external-link-new-window "Brussels Airport New Boarding Bridges">press release</link> , Brussels Airport is investing over 52 million euros to equip its Pier B with new passenger boarding bridges (also called jetways, jet bridges, jetties). This project aims to meet the future demands and to accommodate the evolution of the aircraft fleet.

The existing 24 passenger boarding bridges at Pier B date from 1992. These will be replaced by state-of-the-art aerobridges, half of them being “dual boarding bridges”, to speed up the boarding and deboarding process while offering greater comfort to passengers and enhanced operational efficiency for airlines.

For such major project, a special attention should be given to the pre-planning of the required boarding bridge capabilities, as well as the associated apron layout and facilities.

airsight, familiar with the Brussels Airport’s apron design, was commissioned by Brussels Airport Company for this pre-planning task. One of the main project objectives was to determine the apron lay-out to be considered in the tender specifications for the future passenger boarding bridges, while taking into account the existing infrastructure, equipment as well as projected aircraft fleet and operating limitations.

The process for such planning exercise is strongly supported by computer-assisted simulations (using Transoft Solutions AviPLAN Airside Pro) to ensure that the applicable requirements are met, as for instance: compliance of apron layout with EASA ADR rules, bridge manoeuvring and docking, allowed  tunnel slopes, location of fuel hydrant and 400Hz pits, circulation of ground servicing equipment, future aircraft characteristics, as well as the commercially available passenger bridges on the market.

The main challenge in this type of project, is that at some existing stands no “one-fit-all solution” may exist, thus requiring developing in collaboration with the client different variants and assess individually operational or infrastructural adaptations that may be required to achieve high degree of flexibility while minimising costs.

airsight is one of the most renowned airport consultancy for airside facilities planning and design, providing its services on all continent to the world’s best airports. Contact us for more information!