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FAR Part 77 is one of the most important aspects that must be considered when operating an airport. A duty of airport operations is to keep a close eye on what is happening around the field. It is very common to see unauthorized cranes just boom up. They must have an airspace study performed. If construction is planned within 20,000 ft of an airport or exceeds 200 ft in height, a study must be performed. The form a contractor is required to fill out for this study, FAA form 7460-1 can be downloaded here.
For those interested in how the primary and transitional surfaces around an airport are designated and defined I have provided two videos that I received in an e-mail from AAAE (American Association of Airport Executives), enjoy.
In a previous post, Part 139 Airport Certification, I explained what defines an airport as Part 139 by the Federal Aviation Administration. This post will elaborate on Section 305 of FAR Part 139, which entails pavement management. The condition of taxiways and runways is of the utmost importance to the safety of passengers. For this reason, Airport Operations employees inspect these surfaces several times daily for discrepancies. This is one of the most important aspects of a job in Airport Operations and one that is taken very seriously. Every year, the FAA audits all Part 139 airports to ensure the airport is taking every step possible to maximize safety by staying on top of holes, cracks and other pavement variations.
A pilot recently asked me what the alternating white and black stripes were on the carrier ramp of her airport. I’m sure a lot of people are curious, so I’ll share the answer here. It is called the zipper line and it extends across many carrier and cargo ramps prior to the movement area. It is called a zipper line because it resembles a zipper, very simple. It is a marking that pilots do not need to recognize because it is for use by airport tenants. It is used at many major airports throughout the United States and is simply a boundary for vehicles, which keeps vehicles and employees far enough from the movement area so that no accidental crossings are made. This is not an FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) marking, thus many airports may use slightly different variations, but its purpose is the same.
After several e-mails from readers inquiring about Part 139 airports, I figured it was time to give Airport Chronicles some much needed attention with a new blog.
Under 14 CFR Part 139, the FAA is required to issue airport operating certificates to airports that:
- Serve scheduled and unscheduled air carrier aircraft with more than 30 seats;
- Serve scheduled air carrier operations in aircraft with more than 9 seats but less than 31 seats; and
- The FAA Administrator requires to have a certificate.
The list above is what will require an airport to become Part 139 certified, but any airport that requests certification can obtain an operating certificate if they choose to, however they will subject to the same requirements and annual inspections by the FAA.