Airport bus

An airport bus, or airport shuttle bus, alternatively simply airport shuttle or shuttle bus is a bus designed for transport of passengers to and from, or within airports. These vehicles will usually be equipped with larger luggage space, and incorporate special branding. They are also commonly (but not always) painted with bright colours to stand out among other airport vehicles and to be easily seen by the crews of taxiing aircraft when negotiating the aprons.

Airport buses have been in use since the 1960s, when nationalised operator British European Airways employed the archetypal London red AEC Routemaster buses in a blue and white livery with luggage trailers on service to Heathrow Airport.^{[citation needed]}

Shuttle buses are used inside an airport to carry passengers between locations within an airport, including terminals, aircraft parking, car parks, etc.

Airport buses (or Apron passenger buses) are primarily used as a means of passenger transportation between airport terminals and remote aircraft parking positions. They might be operated either by Airport Authority, Airline or a third party operator.

When the aircraft is not using jetbridge at a terminal and using hardstand for parking, or for long distance transfers or for reasons of safety, passengers will be transferred from the airport terminal arrival or departure gate to the aircraft using an airside transfer bus or apron bus. They are also used for airside transfers between airport terminals.

Airside transfer buses can be of normal municipal transit bus design, or due to not running on the public highway, can be extra long and wide, to hold the maximum number of passengers. Sometimes a trailer bus is employed. Transfer buses are usually fitted with minimal or no seating, with passengers standing for the journey. Sometimes for larger aircraft a coach is used to ferry customers to or from the terminal as coaches hold more people. Transfer buses will usually be fitted with flashing beacons for operating airside near runways. They may also feature driving cabs at both ends.

Washington Dulles airport uses mobile lounges with a liftable passenger cabin for airside transfer; they work as a combination of an airside bus and a jet bridge.

There are two leading manufacturers of purpose built airport buses: Mallaghan Engineering LTD from Northern Ireland and Cobus industries GmbH.