A history of airport technology

The history of airport technology is one of continued development and specialisation. The progressive introduction of new aircraft, combined with the gradual liberalisation of the airline industry throughout the second half of the twentieth century, led to a huge rise in passenger numbers and required the development of new equipment to facilitate efficient turnarounds and speed up the flow of passengers through the terminal. This article describes some of the innovations that have been introduced to meet the specific design challenges of commercial aviation and charts the origin and development of some familiar pieces of airport equipment.