Turnaround

By the time the plane arrives at the stand, many vehicles wait for it. The drivers of all the vehicles waiting on the apron will have obtained permission from the control tower first before proceeding to the plane. Every car, truck or bus is fitted with two-way radio so that the drivers are in continual contact with a ground controller.

While buses take passengers to the terminal, customs officers board the plane. When the customs officers finish, they leave the way clear for the cleaners, caterers, maintenance engineers and other workers involved in preparing the plane for its next flight.

As soon as the passengers and their baggage have been unloaded, the plane is made ready for its next flight. Completing a turnaround between flights on a jumbo jet is a massive operation involving up to 100 workers. It is usually completed in two hours.

Engineers from the airline put right any minor faults which the pilots note during the previous flight. In the cockpit the instruments, radar, radios and electrical systems are checked.

At the same time men employed by the oil companies refuel the plane, either from road tankers or, at the most modern airports, from pipes which come out of the ground.

Then after refueling the plane has been completed and after a final shine has been given to the cockpit windows, the ground engineer in charge will say that he is satisfied that the plane is ready for its next flight. Only then is the signal given to allow the next batch of passengers to start going on board.

 49 Exercise 8.

Aircraft security. The threat of terrorism

The Tokyo Convention of 1963, for­mally known as the Convention on Offens­es and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft, requires that a hijacked aircraft be restored to its operator and that passengers be permitted to continue their journey.

The motives for aircraft hijacking are different. The earliest incidents usually had politi­cal purposes. People tried to escape their polit­ical environment, or join relatives or political comrades. So they hijacked aircraft en route. Dur­ing the early 1970s, a series of hijackings occurred in which the dominant motive was to obtain money by holding passen­gers as hostages.

The hijackings of the late 1970s and the first half of the 1980s were made in an attempt to promote political objec­tives relating to international conflicts.

Hijacking and other forms of aerial ter­rorism have developed as a means for the militarily weak to achieve political ends at the expense of the innocent. This category of hijackings is the most difficult to con­trol, because the militants are willing to undertake tremendous risk and show lit­tle fear of imprisonment or death.

The tragic events of 11 September 2001 underscored the profound vulnerability of the transportation system.

The most effective means of deterring hijacking may be first through each nation's domestic legislation and domestic airport security systems. States with similar interests must then collectively agree to enhance international airport secu­rity, impose penalties uniformly on terrorists and their support systems, impose sanctions on States that provide a haven to the offenders, and ultimately, take necessary action. The war between civilization and anarchy demands the resolve of civilized nations, or else it could be lost.

 50 Exercise 9.