Glossary

The airport A to Z

Airside
Departures and luggage reclaim area of the airport, which includes the taxiways and parking stands for aircraft.

Boarding bridge
Covered boarding bridge for passengers.

Booking
Booking of passengers and goods for air transport.

Catering
The meals and food and beverage generally served on-board the aircraft.

Centring
Balancing of the aircraft on the basis of the weight of: passengers, freight, mail, baggage and fuel.

DCA - Management of Airport District
The authority that has jurisdiction over Fiumicino and Ciampino airports.

ENAC - National Civil Aviation Authority
Regulator of air transport in Italy, including preliminary activities for the complete management of airports.

ENAV - National Flight Assistance Authority
ENAV is the authority responsible for civil air traffic control during take-off, approach and landing of aircraft.

Endorsement
Authorization issued by the airline you fly with to use, for the same leg of journey, a different airline.
 

Finger
Gangway (end of the boarding bridge).
 

Gate
Boarding gate
 

Handling
All airport assistance activities and services on the ground.
 

IATA
International association of airlines that supports airline operations. Brings together most of the airlines.

ICAO
International organization that ensures consistency in the regulations and provisions relating to civil aviation.

Landside
Area of the airport before security and passport control when departing and after baggage reclaim and customs when arriving, not subject to limitations of transit.

Lost luggage
Office at the airport responsible for locating and returning lost luggage.

Must-go
Crew not in service with the right to absolute priority.

No-show
Passenger who booked but did not turn up for departure.

Overbooking A flight is overbooked when it has more passengers booked than places available. In accordance with the Charter of Passenger Rights a traveller in possession of a valid ticket who does not depart due to overbooking has the right to a refund without penalties of the full cost of the ticket for the part of the trip not undertaken, or to an alternative suitable flight to the final destination.

Parking stand
Aircraft park.

 

Ramp
Generic term for places and resources for aircraft assistance.

Refuelling stop
Stop-over of an aircraft for technical reasons, without embarking and disembarking of passengers.

Slot
Time slot an aircraft has available for take-off. It lasts fifteen minutes.

Split-flap display
Video terminals for the display of flight information.

Transfer bus
Vehicle used to transport passengers to and from the aircraft.

Visual docking guidance system
Instrument that enables the guiding of the aircraft in the parking stand, without the aid of a marshaller.

Zulu time
GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), universal time used in air transport.