Advantages
Loading bridges provide all-weather dry access to aircraft jet bridge 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 shapes, and provide a nearly weather-proof seal. Additionally, many models offer leveling devices for the portion of the floor that makes contact with the aircraft; this allows passengers to slowly transition from level aircraft floor to sloping jet bridge floor. As such, jet bridges provide enhanced access to aircraft for passengers with many types of disabilities and mobility impairments, as they may board and disembark without climbing stairs or using a specialized wheelchair lift.
Some airports with international gates have two bridges for larger aircraft with multiple entrances. In theory, this allows for faster boarding and disembarking of larger aircraft, though it is 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, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Johannesburg International Airport. These are already in use at Dubai International Airport, Karachi Jinnah International Airport, Melbourne Airport, Sydney Airport, Singapore Changi Airport, Toronto Pearson Airport, Montreal-Trudeau Airport, Incheon International Airport, Beijing Capital International Airport, Hong Kong International Airport and Narita Airport with the A380.
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 and Hong Kong's old Kai Tak Airport 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.
Read more about this topic: Jet Bridge
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