Unit 8
P7: Explain how non-standard and irregular situations can cause major congestion or
airport closure and explain the measures that can be taken to ease the congestion and
potential impact on customers.
Major congestion is when the airport becomes overcrowded this will cause difficulties for
the airport, staff and passengers. Irregular situation is when passengers are stranded in a
terminal this is an example of major congestion occurring in an airport. A non-standard
situation is when a small amount of passengers are having difficulty checking in.
One example of a non-standard and irregular situation is the bad weather that can occur.
Examples of this are fog, snow and ice which disrupts the airflow of the surface making it
difficult to create lift. If it is too windy then there will be a chance the aircraft will not be
able to take off. Air traffic controllers would not be able to see if is too foggy and it means
aircraft would have difficulty taking off. This negatively affects passengers because they
would have to wait until it is safe for the aircraft to take off before they can go on their
flight. This causes congestion because their flight will be delayed so they would have to wait,
however passengers will arrive in the airport to board their flight causing congestion. More
passengers will arrive however until it is safe for an aircraft to fly they would have to wait in
the airport which means areas of the airport will be crowded.
In some situations aviation operations may need to put in measures to clear runways of
snow or excess which can cause delays to flights. They would have machinery that would
remove snow on runways or they would use plows to remove it. Another measure would be
de-icing an aircraft removes ice and snow from the aircraft. The aircraft has a ventilation
system which prevent frozen ice from building up on the wings. This is a good measure to
put in place this is because the ventilation system will cause low pressure air throughout the
cabin and aircraft bays. The impact this has on passengers is that it will cause delayed
outgoing flights, cancelled flights and passengers may need to stay overnight due to bad
weather. Passengers will have to change their plans because their flight would be delayed.
This means that they would need to change their accommodation reservations and may
need to find somewhere to stay overnight.
Technical problems can be computers crashing
at the airport so passengers are unable to board
the flight because of a power outage. This
causes major congestion at the airport because
passengers had to take a late flight because they
were unable to board their original flight. This
has a slight impact on aviation operations
because they cannot fly due to issues with
passengers having to transfer planes because of
the technical problems that have occurred.
Some planes may be fully booked however
there are passengers that do not have a seat
P7: Explain how non-standard and irregular situations can cause major congestion or
airport closure and explain the measures that can be taken to ease the congestion and
potential impact on customers.
Major congestion is when the airport becomes overcrowded this will cause difficulties for
the airport, staff and passengers. Irregular situation is when passengers are stranded in a
terminal this is an example of major congestion occurring in an airport. A non-standard
situation is when a small amount of passengers are having difficulty checking in.
One example of a non-standard and irregular situation is the bad weather that can occur.
Examples of this are fog, snow and ice which disrupts the airflow of the surface making it
difficult to create lift. If it is too windy then there will be a chance the aircraft will not be
able to take off. Air traffic controllers would not be able to see if is too foggy and it means
aircraft would have difficulty taking off. This negatively affects passengers because they
would have to wait until it is safe for the aircraft to take off before they can go on their
flight. This causes congestion because their flight will be delayed so they would have to wait,
however passengers will arrive in the airport to board their flight causing congestion. More
passengers will arrive however until it is safe for an aircraft to fly they would have to wait in
the airport which means areas of the airport will be crowded.
In some situations aviation operations may need to put in measures to clear runways of
snow or excess which can cause delays to flights. They would have machinery that would
remove snow on runways or they would use plows to remove it. Another measure would be
de-icing an aircraft removes ice and snow from the aircraft. The aircraft has a ventilation
system which prevent frozen ice from building up on the wings. This is a good measure to
put in place this is because the ventilation system will cause low pressure air throughout the
cabin and aircraft bays. The impact this has on passengers is that it will cause delayed
outgoing flights, cancelled flights and passengers may need to stay overnight due to bad
weather. Passengers will have to change their plans because their flight would be delayed.
This means that they would need to change their accommodation reservations and may
need to find somewhere to stay overnight.
Technical problems can be computers crashing
at the airport so passengers are unable to board
the flight because of a power outage. This
causes major congestion at the airport because
passengers had to take a late flight because they
were unable to board their original flight. This
has a slight impact on aviation operations
because they cannot fly due to issues with
passengers having to transfer planes because of
the technical problems that have occurred.
Some planes may be fully booked however
there are passengers that do not have a seat
