Akron-Canton Airport - Research Paper Example

Akron-Canton Airport Akron-Canton Airport Experts stipulate that the art of managing an airport is similar to the ways that mayors manage a city. Compared to a city, an airport comprises of a broad range of systems, services, users, workers, facilities, rules, and regulations. In addition, in the same manner that cities are driven by commerce and trade, airports become successful based on their ability to be situated in a location where cargo and passengers can access them easily when travelling from one point to another. Moreover, just as the way that cities serve as part of a country and its economy, airports are also supposed to operate successfully as a part of the system of a country’s airports (Wells & Young, 2005). This paper discuss the various ways in which Anton-Canton Airport can enhance security, increase parking lots, and improve support facilities based on the growth it is witnessing in terms of size and passenger number. Company Overview Akron-Canton Airport is one of the major carriers in Ohio, offering some of the lowest fees in the region. In 2008, the company rolled out $110 million capital improvement plan for 10 projects in the coming 10 years. From extending a major runway to border patrol and new customs facility to cater for global flights, the company aims to be a major player in the market. The 10-year plan by the company aims at allowing the company to develop facilities that will enhance its operations in airfield as it plans to emerge as one of the top-performing organizations in the country. Between 2000 and 2006, the airline company managed to double its passenger ridership, particularly because of charging low fares. To support its growth, the airport improved its STAR (Soaring with Terminal, Access and Runway) project by the end of 2006, including extension of the runway, provision of more gift and food options, additional six gate concourse, expansion of baggage claim, and tripling its car parking facilities (Higgins, 2012). Because of the excellent services and low fares the company charges, Akron-Canton Airport managed to welcome more than 1.4 million new passengers yearly. The company aims at making each passenger feel at home. Thus, this plan is intended to improve the experience of those customers using its services. With the runway extension plan, which Akron-Canton Airport started in 2006 in line with other related projects, such as firefighting facility and aircraft rescue, the company has managed to offer more jobs in the region. Most airfield projects will be funded by grants through Passenger Facilities Charges and Federal Airport Improvement Program. Therefore, by focusing on improving the facilities and service it offers, the Akron-Canton Airport will emerge as one of the top-performing companies in Ohio, and the U.S. It should lay emphasis on boosting its security, parking lots, and support facilities (Lin-Fisher , 2015). Security Enhancement To enhance security at Akron-Canton Airport, the company has provided adequate room where the clients can remove their shoes as well as empty their pockets when being checked at the security area. The officials of the company introduced a new checkpoint, which is four times bigger recently, incorporating advanced technology, such as full body scanning. This practice has played a vital role in making are travel safer and efficient (Wells & Young, 2005). The checkpoint, which has been erected at the point where the food court and gift shop prevailed, it has four lanes rather than three, with additional space to incorporate two lanes. Two of the lanes are fitted with equipment for scanning full body, where passengers are required to raise their hands for scanning. The biggest change that clients have witnessed is that they are required to empty everything from their pockets, rather than just metallic materials. For the remaining two lanes, they have been fitted with traditional detectors for scanning metallic objects to serve as a backup during peak times. The scanners means for scanning the entire body adopt high frequency waves, which are capable of detecting anything that one has between his skin and clothes. If it is anything rather than your body, the detectors display an anomaly. The passengers who empty their pockets do not encounter challenges at the airport. Furthermore, the new booths that the company is introducing need welcoming by people, particularly those having artificial knee of hip. These individuals are always required for screening whenever their metallic body parts which make alarms to go off. The medical devices within one’s body do not make alarms to go off when passengers pass through the new booths. This is a form of convenience for these individuals, boosting their confidence and while using the airport (Wells & Young, 2005). Unlike in the case of a metal detector, which are incapable of revealing where an object is situated on the body, these scanners reveal where the object is since they reveal a generic outline of an individual. The other form of detector for scanning the entire body uses X-rays at low levels while displaying the actual body of a passenger on a monitor. Some clients tend to wear medical devices outside their skin, such as colostomy bags, become evident on the scans, although they demand further investigation, requiring security officers to tell them about the devices. In order for the client to have an easy time, particularly in case they have special medical conditions that require them to use special devices. In such situations, the clients are offered special cards when they arrive at the checkpoint, which allow them to fill forms that explain medical situations, which influence their screening. The passengers are supposed to give the officers discretely without revealing their private matters to other passengers. Although these cards are not handed out nationally, Akron-Canton Airport issues them at its checkpoints (Wells & Young, 2005). The company has also made upgrades to its X-ray scanners, which are used for checked and carry-on luggage. However, it is not yet clear as to whether the upgrades made will make lines to move faster. If it is not possible to scan passengers quickly, they will be forced to wait until their carry-on luggage has been cleared. However, with the availability of baggage fee and other related issues, the more that people carry luggage the more they will add more clutter, adding more time (Wells & Young, 2005). Akron-Canton Airport has also introduced upgrades for a project worth more than $110 million to extend it runway, which facilitates nonstop flights to areas such as Cancun, Caribbean, and West Coast. This will enhance security because it will facilitate in the elimination of unnecessary flights, which may encourage adequate monitoring of flights (Higgins, 2012). Parking Lots Increment Akron-Canton Airport is growing at a rapid pace presently. In this case, it is being forced to improve its parking space to cope with the rising number of passengers and improve their experience. For instance, the company is currently focusing on an $11.7 million project, which aims at widening the entrance road and provides clients with additional room where they can drop-off as well as covered parking space. The other project the company is embarking on another $2.7 million upgrade top its ticket wing. To facilitate for this program, it will be funded through passenger fees, Federal Aviation Administration, and operating revenue of the airport (Lin-Fisher , 2015). The project of making the parking and the roads will be in two phases. The first phase will be reconfiguring as well as widen the road for entering the airport surrounding the front terminal. Three additional lanes will be developed to serve commercial vehicles, allowing airport shuttles and passenger vehicles more room where they can be close to the terminal. Another upgrade will also be carried in infrastructure including sewer, water, and storm lines. For phase two, it will target adding 250 parking lots covering customers on the right corner that faces the terminal, which will emerge as the current short-term parking. The relocation process for the short-term parking will be started close to the main building where it will extend towards the long-term parking. More 120 slots will be added to support more than 350 short-term spots. More spaces are being created to facilitate in this initiative. The car rental will also be moved to the left corner where it will facilitate customer with ease of access where customers can pick up as well as return the cars. The present rental lot situated on the building’s end will facilitate in future expansion of the terminal and facilitate cabs use. New entrance, booths, and exit lanes projects are also underway. To cater for the needs of the additional space, LED lighting projects are being developed to substitute natural light (Lin-Fisher , 2015). Although the parking spots are anticipated to lose between 50 and 100 spaces, the company still has 4,000 parking spots belonging to the airport, meaning that it will be possible to increase short-term spaces. No decisions have been made as to whether the parking prices will go up until the project completes. The goal of the company is to keep the prices affordable based on its policy to maintain low prices for its operations. The project for the road will also not be changed particularly when a driver is forced to make decisions on what parking lot to head to. This will make it possible to funnel vehicles to diverse spots easily. The company is also planning to complete additional projects by the end of 2018, which will include replacement of the gate as well as expand the customs facility. These projects will play a key role in making parking more efficient for clients (Lin-Fisher , 2015). Support Facilities The client base for Akron-Canton Airport is growing at a rapid pace each year, requiring the company to introduce additional facilities that will address the diverse needs of passengers. Among the key facilities that clients will demand when waiting for their flights or coming from various destinations include retail shops, food and beverage services, information kiosks, post offices, hotels, places of worship, bars, conference centers, smoking lounges, and common waiting areas (Wells & Young, 2005). When customers come from flights, they may need to purchase snacks or other products they may need to keep them busy when waiting for their flights. In this case, retail shops, food and beverage services, bars, and hotels will play a major role in facilitating this initiative. In airports, people have the habit of waiting for their friends of family members to take their journeys together. In this case, it is ideal for Akron-Canton Airport to consider increasing these spaces to cater for the needs of the growing client base. When clients arrive at the airport, they may have come from different destinations. They may also lack sufficient idea regarding the destinations they want to reach. As a result, Akron-Canton Airport should avail these services to ensure that clients gather sufficient information concerning the regions they are going, hence boost the level of services the clients receive from the company (Wells & Young, 2005). Post offices are an essential part of any airport. Passengers may be sent mails or items as well as desire to contact their loves ones in different parts of the world. In this case, it is ideal for the Akron-Canton Airport it has sufficient post offices to address the rising number of clients. Furthermore, people travelling normally come from different belief systems. They can be Christians, Muslim, Buddhists, and Hindu among others. In this case, it is ideal for Akron-Canton Airport to ensure that it supports these facilities effectively, to ensure that the passengers associate themselves with the company easily, based on the sensitivity it directs towards them. Thus, by focusing on improving its diverse support facilities as the client base grows, Akron-Canton Airport will manage to grow its client base considerably, allowing it to achieve a competitive landscape in the airline industry (Wells & Young, 2005). Conclusion Akron-Canton Airport is one of the fastest growing airline companies in the Ohio and different parts of the U.S. One of the key driving forces for the growth of the company is the cheap prices it charges while delivering quality services. Furthermore, as the company grows, it keeps adding services that address the needs of its diverse groups of clients. In this case, the company has managed to realize notable growth, enhance security, increase and improve parking lots, as well as boost its support facilities to address the needs of the passengers considerably. References Higgins, J. (2012). Akron-Canton Airport expands and improves security checkpoint. Retrieved from http://www.ohio.com/news/local/akron-canton-airport-expands-and-improves-security-checkpoint-1.256731 Lin-Fisher , B. (2015). Akron-Canton Airport to add more parking, better loop road and larger ticketing area. Retrieved from http://www.ohio.com/business/lin-fisher/akron-canton-airport-to-add-more-parking-better-loop-road-and-larger-ticketing-area-1.583377 Wells, A. T., & Young, S. (2005). Airport Planning and Management. New York: Mc-Graw Hill. Read More