Jet bridge
Stearns Airport Equipment passenger boarding bridges at Denver International Airport
Ancestor:	none
Related:	Loading bridge, Aerobridge/Airbridge
Descendant:	None
Carries:	Pedestrians
Span range:	40'-140'
Material:	Steel
Movable:	Yes
Design effort:	Low
Falsework required:	No

A jet bridge (also termed jetway™, loading bridge, aerobridge/airbridge, or passenger boarding bridge) is an enclosed, movable connector which extends from an airport terminal gate to an airplane, thereby enabling passengers to board and disembark without having to go outside. It is a type of movable bridge Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 437 pixelsFull resolution (2399 × 1311 pixel, file size: 1. ... KDEN redirects here. ... Look up Pedestrian in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Steel (disambiguation). ... Falseworks are temporary structures used in the building of bridges and other arched structures in order to hold the item in place until its building is sufficiently far advanced to support itself. ... An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer from ground transportation to the facilities that allow them to board airplanes. ... Gate at Nagoya Airport Entrance to gates at Hanover/Langenhagen International Airport Entrance to Gates at Asheville Regional Airport A Gate in aviation is a section at an airport terminal for transferring passengers and airline crews to an aircraft. ... Flying machine redirects here. ... A movable bridge is a bridge that can changed in shape or position in order to allow large traffic to pass through it. ...

Jetway is a registered trademark of FMC; however, it is often used in North American parlance to refer generically to any bridge used to board an aircraft, regardless of manufacturer. ThyssenKrupp Airport Systems is the largest manufacturer of this equipment in the world with factories in Spain, China, and the United States. “(TM)” redirects here. ... A genericized trademark, generic trade mark, generic descriptor, or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name which has become the colloquial or generic description for a particular class of product or service. ...

Prior to the introduction of jet bridges, passengers would normally board an aircraft by walking along the ground-level tarmac and climbing a set of movable stairs, or by descending airstairs, in aircraft so equipped. Airstairs are rarely used today, but mobile staircases are still employed at many airports around the world, particularly at small regional airports that only service small carriers. For other uses, see Walking (disambiguation). ... A close-up view of some freshly-laid tarmac. ... Boeing 727 with rear airstair deployed An airstair is a passenger staircase that is built in to an airliner - often, though not always, on the inside of the bottom half of a clamshell-style door. ...

Advantages

Loading bridges provide all weather dry access to aircraft and enhance the security of terminal operations. They are often permanently attached at one end by a pivot (or rotunda) to the terminal building and have the ability to swing left or right. The cab, located at the end of the loading bridge, may be raised or lowered, extended or retracted, and may pivot, in order to accommodate aircraft of different sizes. These motions are controlled by an operator's station in the cab. The cab is provided with an accordion-like canopy, which allows the bridge to dock with aircraft with differing contours, and provide a nearly weather-proof seal.

Some airports with international gates, such as Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Incheon International Airport have two bridges for larger aircraft with multiple entrances. In theory, this allows for faster boarding and disembarking of larger aircraft, though it's quite common to use one bridge for only passengers in first class and business class, while the other bridge is only for the use of passengers in economy class. With the arrival of the full double-deck airliners such as the Airbus A380, it is expected that each deck will have one or more loading bridges. Such connectors are being constructed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and are already in use at Singapore Changi Airport with the A380. Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (IATA: TPE, ICAO: RCTP) (Traditional Chinese: or ; Simplified Chinese: ; Tongyong Pinyin: Táiwan Táoyuán Gúojì JichÇŽng, Pinyin: Táiwān Táoyuán Gúojì JÄ«chÇŽng), formerly Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Tongyong Pinyin: Jhongjhèng... Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, also called Detroit Metro Airport, is an airport in Romulus, Michigan, near Detroit, Michigan. ... Schiphol (IATA: AMS, ICAO: EHAM) (municipality Haarlemmermeer) is the Netherlands main airport. ... For other uses, see Kuala Lumpur International Airport (disambiguation). ... Incheon Airport - Entrance Incheon Airport - Departures Incheon International Airport (IIA) (IATA: ICN, ICAO: RKSI) (Korean: ) is the largest airport in South Korea, and one of the largest and busiest in Asia. ... First class sleeper cabin on American Airlines. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, an EADS subsidiary. ... For other uses, see Kuala Lumpur International Airport (disambiguation). ... Changi Airport redirects here. ...

Though loading bridges are usually permanently attached at their terminal-building end, leaving only the cab free to move, this is not always the case. Those at Melbourne Airport's international terminal are anchored in the middle and movable at either end – the terminal building-end can be raised or lowered to connect with either the departures level or the arrivals level of the terminal building. For other uses, see Melbourne Airport (disambiguation). ...

Disadvantages

Loading bridges restrict aircraft parking to spots immediately adjacent to the terminal. Thus, some airports such as Bristol International Airport still use mobile staircases to facilitate boarding at hardstands (remote parking positions). Bristol International Airport (IATA: BRS, ICAO: EGGD) is the commercial airport serving the city of Bristol and the south west of England. ...

Use and appearance

Plan view of three-tunnel loading bridge

At the airport terminal, the bridge is connected to a portal (called a "gate") in the terminal wall behind the gate desk. Once airplane boarding starts, passengers hand in their boarding passes to the gate's attendant, who lets them pass through. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Gate at Nagoya Airport Entrance to gates at Hanover/Langenhagen International Airport Entrance to Gates at Asheville Regional Airport A Gate in aviation is a section at an airport terminal for transferring passengers and airline crews to an aircraft. ...

Inside, the bridge looks much like a narrow but lighted hallway in an office building, without doors. Some loading bridges are constructed without windows, while brands such as ThyssenKrupp produce models with glass walls. The walls are normally painted in accordance with airline standards, generally with relaxing colors. Some bridges have advertisements on interior or exterior walls. ThyssenKrupp AG (ISIN: DE0007500001) is a very large German industrial conglomerate, with about 188,000 employees. ...

By using a retractable tunnel design, loading bridges may retract and extend varying lengths. Some airports use fixed walkways to effectively extend the reach of a loading bridge. The fixed walkway extends out from the terminal building and connects to the loading bridge rotunda. Occasionally, fixed bridges lead to multiple loading bridges.

The cab of the loading bridge is raised and lowered in order to dock with aircraft of differing sill heights. The height of the cab is matched to the height of the aircraft door sill height. This often results in a slope along the length of the loading bridge.

Interior view of a typical ThyssenKrupp Airport Systems bridge Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 64 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Interior view of a typical jetway File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old...	A short fixed bridge connected to a loading bridge at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 341 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) photo taken by: Jason Foster / loosenut (self) A fixed bridge connected to a loading bridge at the north end of Concourse C at SeaTac International... Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (IATA: SEA, ICAO: KSEA, FAA LID: SEA), also known as Sea-Tac Airport, is located in SeaTac, Washington, United States at the intersections of State Route 518, State Route 99 and State Route 509. ...	ThyssenKrupp Airport Systems' Crystal glass walled PBB at Incheon Airport Incheon International Airport (IATA: ICN, ICAO: RKSI) is the largest airport in South Korea, and one of the largest in Asia. ...	Vacant glass walled jetway at Houari Boumedienne Airport Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... , Houari Boumedienne Airport (Arabic: ) (IATA: ALG, ICAO: DAAG) is a public airport located 9 nautical miles (17 km) southeast of Algiers, the capital of Algeria. ...
Inside a ThyssenKrupp Airport Systems' glass walled bridge	Glass walled jetways at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (Serbian: Аеродром Београд - Никола Тесла or Aerodrom Beograd - Nikola Tesla) (IATA: BEG, ICAO: LYBE) is Serbias busiest airport, also known as Surčin (Сурчин), after a nearby Belgrade suburb. ...	ThyssenKrupp Airport Systems bridge at Vancouver International Airport Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1284 KB)Jetway, a type of movable bridge, used for passenger loading at larger airports. ... Vancouver International Airport (IATA: YVR, ICAO: CYVR) is located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, about 15 kilometres from downtown Vancouver. ...	Westjet's ThyssenKrupp Airport Systems and Dew Engineering equipment at Calgary International Airport Image File history File linksMetadata CYYCWestjetTerminalNorth. ... A WestJet Boeing 737-700 WestJet Airlines Ltd. ... Calgary International Airport, (IATA: YYC, ICAO: CYYC), is the main airport that serves Calgary, Alberta, Canada and the surrounding region; It is located 17 km from the downtown core. ...
A glass walled jetway in Kuala Lumpur International Airport Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Kuala Lumpur International Airport (disambiguation). ...	Frontier Airlines Stearns Airport Equipment bridges in Concourse A at Denver International Airport Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 437 pixelsFull resolution (2399 × 1311 pixel, file size: 1. ... This article is about Frontier Airlines that was founded in 1994. ... KDEN redirects here. ...	A flag flies over Gate A17's jetway at Newark Liberty International Airport, after United Airlines Flight 93 took off from that jetway on September 11, 2001, and crashed into rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 547 KB) An American flag flies over Gate 17 of Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport. ... For the massive interchange outside of Newark Liberty International Airport, see Newark Airport Interchange. ... For other uses of Flight 93 and United 93, see Flight 93. ... A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... Main Street in Shanksville. ...	A United Express operated by Shuttle America plane at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. Image File history File linksMetadata OKC_2. ... United Express is a brand name under which seven regional airlines operate feeder flights for United Airlines. ... Shuttle America is a major airline based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. It feeds United Airlines flights at Chicago, Denver, and Washington as United Express, and feeds Delta Air Lines flights at Atlanta and New York as Delta Connection. ... Will Rogers World Airport (IATA: OKC, ICAO: KOKC) is located in southwestern Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and is the primary commercial airport in Oklahoma. ... Downtown Oklahoma City The State Capitol of Oklahoma From The South Motto: Nickname: Capital of the New Century Founded 1889 Incorporated County Oklahoma County Cleveland County Canadian County Borough {{{borough}}} Parrish {{{parrish}}} Mayor Mick Cornett Area  - Total  - Water 1,608. ...

References

This article does not cite any references or sources. (September 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...

See also

• Airstair
• Moveable bridge for a list of other movable bridge types
• Covered bridge