Abeceda letecké dopravy
Vysvětlení důležitých pojmů a zkratek
Vítejte ve světě letecké dopravy!
Ať už terminál, jetlag nebo slot: mnoho odborných pojmů a zkratek z oboru letecké dopravy má původ v angličtině, ale zcela přirozeně se používají i v češtině. Navíc existují výrazy, které slyšíte častěji, ale stejně nikdy tak docela nevíte, co se za nimi skrývá. Sestavili jsme jejich seznam a napsali vysvětlení.
| Pojem | Vysvětlení |
| ACG | Austro Control |
| ACMI | Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance; a type of aircraft leasing (wet lease) |
| ADM | Airside Duty Manager; airport employee responsible for smooth airside operations on the apron |
| AFIS | Aerodrome Flight Information Service; airport information service for pilots |
| Airbus | European aircraft manufacturer |
| Airside | Area of an airport that is not open to the public and may only be entered after a security check, e.g. transit and apron area |
| Alternate | Alternate airport |
| Angle of attack | Angle at which the chord of an aircraft's wing meets the relative wind |
| Anti-skid surfacing | Special, very rough pavement on runways to increase friction and thus adhesion of aircraft tyres |
| AOC | Air Operator Certificate; permission to operate an aircraft |
| AOG | Aircraft on Ground; aircraft not ready to fly for technical reasons |
| Apron | Parking and handling area for aircraft in the security area of the airport |
| Apron | Aircraft parking area |
| APU | Auxiliary Power Unit of an aircraft for power supply on the ground |
| Armed position | Locking position for aircraft doors |
| Artificial horizon | Attitude indicator in the cockpit; replaces the natural horizon when it is not visible |
| ATC | Air Traffic Control |
| ATCO | Air Traffic Controller; directs air traffic; employed by Austro Control in Austria |
| ATIS | Automatic Terminal Information System; automatic information announcement about weather and airport data at airports with instrument flight traffic |
| Autopilot | Computer-based, fully automatic control of the aircraft |
| Avgas | Aviation fuel for aircraft with piston engines (= reciprocating engines) |
| Belly | Cargo hold under the passenger deck of an aircraft |
| Blackbox | Orange container for flight data recorder and voice recorder, which are used for accident investigation; "black box" because the containers are hermetically sealed as far as possible and have to withstand extreme conditions |
| Blacklist | List of airlines banned from taking off and landing in the EU |
| Boarding | Time period between asking passengers to proceed to the gate from which the aircraft can be accessed and the time when the aircraft doors are locked |
| Boarding completed | All passengers are on board |
| Boarding pass | Plane ticket authorising passengers to board an aircraft; in paper form or electronically on a mobile device |
| Boarding time | Time from which passengers can board the aircraft; not the departure time! |
| Briefing | Mandatory aircrew briefing for important procedures before and during a flight |
| Carrier | Airline that transports people or goods from point A to point B |
| CAT I, II, III a, b, c | See also ILS; categories for decision height in case of restricted visibility for landing approaches; Linz Airport has the best possible category with CAT IIIb with a decision height of less than 50 ft above ground and a runway visibility of at least 50 m |
| Charter flight | A non-scheduled, on-demand flight; the airline is contracted to transport people or goods to a specific destination on specific occasions for a client (e.g. tour operator) |
| Check-in | Process of registering a passenger and receiving the baggage for a flight; assigning the seat by issuing the boarding pass; also possible online |
| Checklist | List with instructions helping the cockpit crew to perform certain actions correctly and without forgetting anything |
| Clear air turbulence | Strong air movement in cloud-free air |
| Clearance | Approval of a flight plan |
| CRM | Crew Resource Management; distribution of tasks between the two pilots in the cockpit |
| Declaration | Declaration of goods subject to duty |
| Destination | Destination airport |
| Direct flight | Flight between two airports where stopovers are possible; not the same as a non-stop flight |
| Diversion / diverted | Diversion of an aircraft to another airport, e.g. for weather reasons |
| DME | Distance Measuring Equipment; used in the landing approach |
| Doors to arrival | Automatic release of the emergency slides in the aircraft doors is deactivated with this command in order to be able to open the aircraft doors |
| EASA | European Union Aviation Safety Agency |
| EFIS | Electronic Flight Instrument System; flight data display in the aircraft, colloquially also known as the board computer |
| ESTA | Electronic System for Travel Authorization for entry into the USA |
| ETA | Estimated Time of Arrival |
| ETOPS | Extended-range Twin-engine Operations Performance Standards; regulations that allow airlines to plan a shorter route for a flight than the standard safety rules allow to reach an alternate airport |
| FAA | US Federal Aviation Administration |
| Fan | Ducted fan used for propulsion |
| Fare | Air ticket fare |
| Filekey | Booking code; six-digit number code on an airline ticket used to identify the booking |
| Flaps | Landing flaps; increase lift during take-off or landing |
| Fly-by-wire | Aircraft commands sent to the control interfaces via electronic signals |
| Follow-me (vehicle) | Vehicle that guides the aircraft to its parking position |
| Foot (ft) | Unit of measurement in aviation (1 foot = 30.48 cm) |
| Galley | Aircraft kitchen |
| Gangway | Aircraft stairs or passenger boarding bridge |
| General Aviation Center | Centre through which private and (partly) commercial air traffic is handled |
| Go-around | An aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach or has already touched down |
| GPU | Ground Power Unit; mobile aggregate that supplies an aircraft with power on the ground |
| Ground handling | Services around the aircraft preparing it for the next departure |
| High loader | Aircraft loader used for picking up, transporting and precisely setting down heavy loads |
| Holding (pattern) | Manoeuvre flown by pilots awaiting further clearance |
| Hub | Transfer airport |
| IATA | International Air Transport Association |
| ICAO | International Civil Aviation Organization, which issues standards, rules and norms for civil aviation |
| ILS | Instrument Landing System; supports the pilot in the landing approach, especially in poor visibility; is divided into categories depending on the minimum required visibility; see Cat |
| In-flight entertainment | Umbrella term used for the entertainment options provided by electronic devices to passengers of a commercial aircraft during their flight |
| Infant | Children under two years of age who are not permitted to occupy their own seat on the aircraft |
| JET A-1 fuel | Special fuel for turbine-powered aircraft (kerosene) |
| Jet lag | Disturbance of the body's circadian rhythm after long-haul flights through several time zones |
| Jet stream | Strong air currents in the Earth's atmosphere of up to 500 kilometres per hour |
| Jumpseat | Fold-away seats in the cockpit or galley areas of an aircraft |
| Kiss & ride | Parking area for dropping off or picking up people in the immediate vicinity of the terminal |
| Knots | Measure of speed in aviation based on the nautical mile unit of length; one nautical mile (NM) corresponds to exactly 1,852 metres (1 knot = 1 NM/h = 1.852 km/h) |
| Landside | the area of an airport open to the public |
| Load factor | In air transport, the term seat load factor stands for the degree of utilisation of the aircraft; it can refer to both passengers and cargo |
| Long-haul flight | Flight lasting between six and twelve hours |
| Lost and found | The counter where you report the loss or damage of your luggage after arrival |
| Low-cost carrier | Low-cost airline that offers flights cheaper than classic airlines and forgoes comfort features |
| LOWL | ICAO code of Linz Airport; used to uniquely identify the aerodrome and is assigned by ICAO. |
| Marshaller | Flight Line Marshaller (FLM); ground personnel guiding the aircraft to its parking stand or to the runway |
| Mileage | Distance travelled during a flight/trip |
| Minimum connecting time | Minimum time required to reach a connecting flight |
| MTOW | Maximum Take Off Weight; maximum permitted take-off weight of an aircraft; the MTOW is also used as a parameter for calculating landing fees |
| Narrow-body | Narrow-body aircraft or standard fuselage aircraft; a commercial aircraft with only one cabin aisle and only up to six seats per row in economy class |
| No frills | Low-cost concept of low-cost airlines; savings are achieved by omitting special benefits and services |
| No-show | Passenger who, despite having made a booking, fails to board a flight without prior notice |
| Non-stop flight | Direct flight without stopover |
| NOTAM | Notice to Airman; short-notice and urgent instructions and information for the pilot that are important for an orderly, safe and smooth flight |
| NTSB | National Transportation Safety Board; US transport authority for the investigation of accidents in the transport sector |
| Off-blocks | Moment when an aircraft moves out of the parking position and prepares to taxi and take off |
| Open-jaw flight | an air journey in which the passenger does not fly back from the airport at which they arrived |
| OPS | Operations; preparation for the execution of the flight, including determining the most efficient route from point A to point B |
| PAX | Abbreviation for passenger and the colloquial term for an airline passenger |
| Pitot tube / pitot probe | L-shaped tube, open on one side, used to measure the speed of aircraft and helicopters |
| Preflight check | Inspection walk-through before flight operations and before each departure, in this case by the pilots |
| Priority | If a piece of luggage receives the "priority tag", it is unloaded and placed on the luggage conveyor belt first |
| Priority boarding | Service that can be booked with some airlines for an extra charge to be able to board the aircraft before the other passengers |
| Purser/purserette | Highest-ranking flight attendant in a cabin crew |
| Pushback | Pushing an aircraft backwards, as they cannot or are not allowed to taxi backwards under their own power |
| Ramp | Parking and handling area for aircraft in the security section of the airport |
| Roll-out | The first taxiing of a newly built aircraft out of the assembly hangar |
| Rush baggage | Baggage that may be transported without the associated passenger being on the same flight; usually baggage that has previously been loaded incorrectly |
| RVR | Runway Visual Range; measuring device for determining the visual range on the runway, indicated in feet or metres |
| Safety | Air traffic safety; includes operational safety to prevent air accidents through safety regulations, controls, and training |
| Seat load factor | Passenger load factor of an aircraft in percentages |
| Security | Airport security; in the field of civil aviation, refers to the defence against external threats |
| Sharklets | Term used at Airbus for the upward or downward curved extensions at the wingtips to improve environmental performance (fuel savings), as they reduce aerodynamic drag |
| SIGMET | Significant Meteorological Phenomena; weather warning in aviation |
| Skidometer | Special system (vehicle with trailer) with which the friction value on the runway can be determined; results are transmitted to the pilots by means of SNOWTAM |
| Slot | Time window for the take-offs and landings of aircraft |
| SNOWTAM | Special NOTAM informing pilots of the condition of the runway in winter |
| Stall | A reduction in the lift coefficient generated by a foil as the angle of attack increases |
| Stopover | Scheduled flight interruption of at least 24 hours |
| Taxiway | Taxiway for aircraft between apron and runway |
| Terminal | Area of an airport where passenger or cargo traffic is handled |
| TORA | Takeoff Run Available; sign at the junction of a taxiway with the runway indicating to pilots the maximum distance available before takeoff |
| Transit Area | Transfer area at international airports; no further entry formalities are required |
| UNMR (UM) | Unaccompanied Minor; child between the ages of 5 and 12 who is flying unaccompanied; a childcare service must be booked with the airline |
| UTC | Coordinated Universal Time; is used in aviation as a uniform time indication |
| VFR | Visual Flight Rules |
| Wide-body | Wide-body aircraft with a fuselage diameter of more than five metres and at least two aisles in the passenger cabin |
| Windshear | Strong change of wind direction within small areas (especially near thunderstorms) |
| Winglets | Upward or downward curved extensions at the wingtips to improve environmental performance (fuel savings), as they reduce aerodynamic drag |