If you were to walk into Atlantic City International Airport, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell that it is undergoing drastic physical changes. Tom Rafter, airport director, says the largest project is the installation of state-of-the-art bag screening technology. In April, A.C. International Airport was the second airport in the country to install CT80, an explosive detection system developed by the Reveal Imaging Technologies.

Tom Rafter

The system detects explosive devices by forming a three-dimensional image of objects that trained Transportation Security Authority operators can recognize, and it will replace earlier electronic trace detection (ETD) technology that can identify chemical components of explosive materials.

A.C. International Airport has 13 small ETD units crowding its terminal, so the objective of the bag screening project is to place the larger CT80 units into a soon-to-be erected building located at the back of the terminal, freeing up space to improve passenger flow.

“It is also, essentially, a redo of the entire terminal—the aesthetics, the ticket counters, the flooring—and we are putting in a separate escalator at the other end of the building to improve passenger traffic flow. It is a comprehensive project that will entail a lot of coordination with our tenants to continue operations as smoothly as possible,” said Rafter.

“Throughout the design process, we developed a phasing program that minimizes the impact the construction has on the airport. Instead of relocating all of our tenants and rebuilding their offices at once, we do one small group at a time,” he continued. The airport used a similar approach to make room for the new building. It had to relocate two loading bridges, but in an effort to minimize down time, it only moved one bridge at a time.

Jumping on the network
In 2003 and 2004, A.C. International Airport’s passenger traffic topped 1 million. As that number continues to rise, the entire airport will be connected to a structured cable system, which will enable airlines to use ticket counters and gates more efficiently.

Typically, an airline leases a specific number of ticket counters and gates, but there are periods when some of those spaces may not be in use. “With this system, we can seamlessly switch those counters and/or gates over to another airline. You may approach the ticket counter for airline X at 2:00 p.m., but that same counter
at 8:00 p.m. may be used airline Y,” Rafter said, adding that the trick to minimizing any confusion for the passengers is to be as consistent as possible with ticket counter and gate
allocation.

This approach allows the airlines to only pay for what they use. If an airline is leasing space that isn’t used 100% of the time, another airline can pay for and use it. “It’s a win-win. One airline gets the extra counter space or gates it needs, and the other can save some money.”

The system will also allow the airport to easily change tenants. When new tenants come in, instead of running new phone and cable lines, A.C. International Airport simply goes into the system and changes the leasing information.

Currently, each airline has its own IT support and its own hardware and software, but Rafter says that once the cable system is up and running, the airport plans to take over those responsibilities. “We’re the common denominator for the airlines. We can provide the hardware, software, and personnel and respond immediately if there is a problem. They save money and get better service.”

South Jersey Transportation Authority, owner of A.C. International Airport, will provide support for this project. “They’ll be in the background handling the IT,” Rafter said. The SJTA has also planned a larger IT project to support the airport that consists of connecting to a course wave network of fiber optic cable that runs up the Garden State Parkway and back down the Jersey Turnpike, forming a figure eight across the state.

By jumping onto that network, the airport expects greater connectivity with various SJTA departments throughout New Jersey. It will also help the authority monitor the airport. “We’ll have a redundant system. The state police, as well as our own airport security, will be able to keep a keener eye on the airport, and should something happen to our structured cable network, we’ll have a system backing us up.” The completion of the course wave project is still a few years down the road, but the structured cabling system will be in place within the year.

Improved throughput
In addition to projects designed to open up traffic inside the airport terminal, A.C. International Airport is working on improving traffic flow outside as well. It has recently finished constructing Taxiway P. In 1998, the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center transferred operational control of the airport to the SJTA, and at the same time, the FAATC agreed to a 50-year lease with SJTA for 2,200 acres of land, including taxiways, runways, and commercial aircraft ramps—some of which were deteriorating.

“When we developed our master plan, we decided that instead of investing the money in repairing Taxiway H, we would build a new one—Taxiway P. Doing so has benefited the airport in several ways: it improves the flow of air traffic so the controllers can have two-way traffic into and out of the terminal. In addition, it will allow us to expand the aircraft ramp, which will eventually allow us to expand the terminal.” Rafter said.

“We currently park airplanes in various positions because the ramp is not conducive to the type of traffic we are getting, so we are pushing to get additional funding from the FAA to design a ramp expansion to complement Taxiway P, which will keep traffic moving smoothly, despite the heavy volumes we’re seeing,” he concluded.