Air transport, advantages and disadvantages. Organization of air transportation. Advantages provided by air transport The disadvantage of air transport is
Details Updated on 27.07.2017 14:03 Author: Andrey Yarmolinsky
Air Transport- one of the most developed branches of transport, however, it should be elected only in certain circumstances.
Every day we choose different vehicles. Why is this happening? When does air travel seem to be the best solution, and when should it be abandoned?
On television, we often hear about plane crashes. Due to the publicity of this type of incident in the media, there is a widespread belief that air travel is not a safe way to transport people or goods. In reality, however, it turns out that air transport is much safer than, for example, trucking! Security is not the only advantage of this transport area. Another undoubted advantage is its ability to quickly reach even the most remote places. The fact is that air transport can reach considerable speed, and at the same time not be limited to creating traffic jams, aircraft can cover even very long distances within a few hours. For this reason, air transport is often chosen for the transport of goods. It is very important that using air transport in many cases, you can get to a place inaccessible to other vehicles. Where it is impossible to reach by land or sea, you can reach by plane. Due to the fact that today the issue of environmental protection is the most important, it is worth noting that air travel is characterized by a relatively low level of emissions into the environment.
Unfortunately, despite so many advantages, air transport also has many disadvantages. The first and perhaps the most important drawback of this type of transport is the great dependence of timely delivery on weather conditions. Bad weather can significantly delay or even cancel a flight. Fog, blizzard, heavy rains and other unfavorable weather can greatly delay the delivery of goods to their destination. Also, in order to transport goods to and from the aircraft, other modes of transport must be used. This additional service also increases the cost of transportation. Air transport remains one of the most expensive modes of movement and transfer of goods, and this is because the same development of this mode of transport requires significant financial efforts and highly qualified personnel. Thus, air transport becomes completely uneconomical for relatively short distances.
To sum it up: air transport is good option if you need to transport moderate heavy loads over long distances at short notice, when you cannot afford any delays and when the means to transport goods is greatly limited.
There are 5 main types of transport: road, rail, water, air and pipeline. The significance of each of them can be assessed by such indicators as the length of highways, traffic volume, profitability and content of traffic flows (that is, by the composition of transported goods). Let's consider each type of transport in more detail.
Automobile transport.
After World War II, the rapid development of road transport began. The main reasons for such a rapid rise in vehicles were the inherent flexibility of delivery on the “from door to door” principle and the high speed of intercity transportation.
The characteristics of trucks to the greatest extent meet the transport needs of the processing industry and trade, when there is a need to transport expensive products over short distances. Almost all transportation between wholesalers and retailers is carried out by road. 26
From the point of view of technical and economic characteristics, the following advantages and disadvantages of vehicles can be distinguished:
Advantages of vehicles.
Possibility of cargo delivery “from door to door”;
Ensuring high safety of cargo;
High degree of vehicle mobility;
High speed of transportation;
Profitability when transporting goods over short and medium distances (200-800 km);
No need to accumulate cargo, as a result of which shipments become more rhythmic.
Disadvantages of vehicles:
Limited use over long distances;
Limited transportation of mass consignments of cargo;
Dependence on the road network;
Relatively high cost of transport. 27
Railway transport.
Railways provide economical transportation of large cargoes, and at the same time offer a number of additional services, thanks to which they occupy an almost monopoly position in the transport services market.
The main share of freight turnover in rail transportation is the export of mineral raw materials from mining sources located far from waterways. But beyond that, railroads continue to turn to specialization of rolling stock, which has led to the emergence of double-deck container platforms, multi-deck cars, as well as articulated cars and special-purpose trains. This makes it possible to transport almost any cargo by rail. 28
From the point of view of technical and economic characteristics, the following advantages and disadvantages of railway transport can be distinguished:
Advantages of rail transport:
High efficiency of use at long-distance transportations;
Relative cheapness of transportation in comparison with motor transport;
Possibility of delivery “from door to door” due to the construction of railway lines and access roads of enterprises;
High throughput and carrying capacity of transport;
Independence from season, time of day and weather conditions;
Ability to transport bulk goods in a short time.
Disadvantages of rail transport:
High costs for the construction of railways;
High costs for the operation and maintenance of infrastructure and rolling stock. 29
Water transport.
This type of transport is used to transport very large cargoes or large consignments of goods. In water transport, a division into deep-sea (sea) and shipping and inland (river) shipping is accepted.
Ores, minerals, grain, cement and some other agricultural products are typical cargoes for transportation along river routes. As for deep sea transportation, it is also dominated by bulk cargo such as coal, grain and ores. Container transportation is carried out in large volumes by water transport. Containerization makes loading and unloading easier, which is the basis for expanding the possibilities of intermodal transport through more efficient transshipment of goods from one mode of transport to another. thirty
From the point of view of technical and economic characteristics, the following advantages and disadvantages of water transport can be distinguished:
Advantages of water transport:
Low cost of transportation compared to other modes of transport (especially over long distances);
Mobility. Depending on the demand and supply for tonnage, ships easily switch from one route to another;
The large carrying capacity of the vessels provides the possibility of transporting significant consignments;
Unlimited throughput of sea lanes;
The indispensability of water transport due to geographical features.
Disadvantages of water transport:
Port dependency;
Limited port bandwidth;
Dependence on climatic conditions. 31
Air Transport.
This type of transport is less in demand compared to the others due to the high cost of transportation. By air, it is possible to transport any goods, mostly not on a regular basis, but in case of emergency or in case of impossibility of transportation by another mode of transport. The main types of goods most frequently transported by air are high-value and perishable goods. When the sales period of goods is extremely limited, air transport is the most practical and cost-effective mode of transportation. 32
From the point of view of technical and economic characteristics, the following advantages and disadvantages of air transport can be distinguished:
Advantages of air transport:
High delivery speed;
straightening the path;
High level of safety of transported goods;
Possibility of use in areas where it is impossible to use other modes of transport.
Disadvantages of air transport:
Too high shipping cost
Limited payload;
Impossibility of transportation of a wide range of goods;
Dependence on climatic conditions and ground infrastructure. 33
Pipeline transport.
Pipelines are an essential part of the transport system. Their main task is the transportation of crude oil and liquid petroleum products. In addition to oil, pipelines also transport natural gas and liquid chemicals. This mode of transport has unique properties compared to all other modes of transport. Pipelines operate around the clock with breaks only for the change of transported products and maintenance. 34 It should also be noted that human participation in transportation by this mode of transport is minimal, which significantly reduces variable costs.
From the point of view of technical and economic characteristics, the following advantages and disadvantages of pipeline transport can be distinguished:
Advantages of pipeline transport:
Low cost of transportation;
Pipe tightness. Losses are practically excluded;
High automation of transportation;
Independence from the environment;
Continuity of transportation.
Disadvantages of pipeline transport:
The complexity of pipeline construction. It pays off only in the direction with a constant cargo flow;
Usage in one direction only;
The volume of transportation is limited by the capacity;
If the field dries up, the pipeline usually becomes useless and unusable for other purposes. 35
Relative characteristics of modes of transport: 36
Characteristics |
Railways |
Auto transport |
Water transport |
Pipelines |
Air Transport |
Speed | |||||
Availability | |||||
Reliability | |||||
load capacity | |||||
Total score |
1. Advantages of air transport relative to other modes of transport
Air transport was the last to enter the ranks of universal vehicles, but it is of great importance for international transport. It is estimated that although only 1% of the world's cargo is transported by air, the total value of such cargo is between 20% and 30% of the total value of all transported cargo.
Nowadays, air transport consists of modern aircraft capable of flying vast distances without refueling and stopping, which was completely impossible in the past. As a result, non-stop transatlantic flights are now being carried out, and flights will be carried out over even longer distances in the future.
Advantages of air transport:
Very high transport speed;
Low packaging cost;
The theoretical possibility of delivering goods to anywhere in the world;
Minimum damage to the cargo;
Minimal risk of cargo theft;
Accuracy and efficiency of cargo delivery.
On the other hand, the disadvantages of air transport include:
High cost of transportation in comparison with road and water modes of transport;
Restrictions on the weight and size of transported goods;
Impossibility of transportation by air of some cargoes;
Limited aircraft carrying capacity;
2. Air transportation safety
Service with special statutory tasks - aviation security. It provides a state of security for aviation against acts of unlawful interference with aviation activities with the further goal of air transport security.
Unlawful interference in activities in the field of aviation - unlawful actions (inaction) that threaten safe activities in the field of aviation, resulting in accidents with people, material damage, seizure or hijacking of an aircraft, or creating a threat of such consequences.
Aviation security
1. Persons receiving, dispatching or servicing an aircraft are required to take measures to ensure aviation security.
2. Aviation security is ensured through:
1) prevention of access of unauthorized persons and vehicles to the controlled area of the airport or aerodrome;
2) protection of aircraft in parking lots in order to exclude the possibility of unauthorized persons entering aircraft;
3) exclusion of the possibility of illegal transportation on an aircraft of weapons, ammunition, explosive, radioactive, poisonous, flammable substances and other dangerous items and substances and the introduction of special precautions when permitting their transportation;
4) pre-flight inspection, as well as post-flight inspection if it is carried out in accordance with the Law Russian Federation"About the police"; (as amended by Federal Law No. 20-FZ of March 21, 2005)
5) implementation of measures to counter acts of unlawful interference in activities in the field of aviation and other measures, including measures carried out with the participation of law enforcement agencies.
To date, the main cause of air accidents remains the "human factor".
Incident type: catastrophe. Flight phase: landing, go-around. Aircraft type: An-12. Affiliation: Ministry of Defense of the USSR. Unit: Air Force, 111 osap (Tuzel). Flight category: Military transport. Departure point: Tashkent. Destination: Alma-Ata. Pilot-inspector p / p-k Khramov N. N. KK deputy. com. regiment Boyko A.P. Art. l-t Melkozerov.
Description
The crew performed a test flight to commission the deputy. com. shelf. In the afternoon, in average weather conditions, proceeded to the landing approach. Piloted by inspector. The aircraft was in a non-landing position relative to the runway. The flight director gave instructions for a go-around. At that moment, the plane made a dive and the crew began
the withdrawal of the aircraft from the decline, but there was not enough height. The board collided with the ground 50m from the runway, with a significant vertical speed, collapsed and burned out. Weather: fog, overcast with a lower edge of 150m, light rain, visibility on the runway 3800m. The probable cause is late go-around and non-synchronous retraction of the flaps.
Crew: 7, all killed.
Passengers: 1 person, killed.
Nobody on the ground was hurt.
Total dead: 8 people.
Established causes of the accident
Crew error, ATC error.
Over the past 10 years, the total loss of state aviation as a result of aviation, emergency and ground accidents amounted to 280 aircraft, 707 people died.
Air transport safety indicators
Only one indicator has meaning - the ratio of the number of aviation accidents to the number of flights. (The risk of death of a passenger on a given flight, the risk of death of a citizen of the country on transport, the risk of death of citizens using this type of transport).
If you want to deliver your cargo as quickly and safely as possible, you are better off using air freight. Most often this applies to very expensive goods, art objects, dangerous goods (but the restrictions given in the special instructions should be taken into account), etc.
The main advantage of air transportation is the high speed of delivery. This is what distinguishes air transportation from other types of transportation: land, water, rail transport. Especially speed matters in international transportation, when the goods are transported over a long distance. Your cargo will be delivered to any part of the world without any difficulties. At the same time, you can be calm about your cargo, it will arrive on time and without any problems.
Another advantage of air transportation is to ensure the maximum security of your cargo. Very often, the transport organizations that carry out your transportation take responsibility for the execution of all documents, without which air transportation is impossible.
Air transportation is characterized by its regularity and periodicity, i.e. strict observance of all time parameters, which allows the consignee to know the exact time of delivery.
But there are also disadvantages, for example, one of the main disadvantages is the high cost of air travel. Tariffs for air transport are set depending on the characteristics of your cargo.
Some cargoes, due to their overall dimensions, also serve as a barrier to air transportation. Therefore, oversized cargo is transported in small batches. This is undoubtedly a disadvantage of air travel.
Another equally important drawback is the subordination to climatic conditions. In bad weather, especially during heavy rainfall, the flight may be delayed or delayed, which leads to a delay in the cargo for a longer time and untimely delivery of the cargo to the recipient.
And the last, in my opinion, but not so frequent, drawback is the lack of an airport in any region. Suppose you need to deliver cargo to a region without an airport, this will cause difficulties and you will have to use other modes of transportation, for example, if the distance is not significant, then you can use the services of road transport. This is the so-called combined transportation, when several types of vehicles are involved.
The work of transport companies engaged in air transportation includes:
Transportation of goods from the client to the carrier
Temporary storage of cargo
Transportation to the airport
Preparation and execution of all necessary documents
Cargo insurance
Optimal cargo packaging
Carrying out loading and unloading operations
Direct delivery of goods to the recipient at the appointed time
Special requirements are imposed on the packaging of the cargo, it must be neat, without violations, dry and ensure the safety of the cargo. There are also restrictions on the dimensions of the cargo: the weight should not exceed 85 kg and should not be more than 110 cm in length. Such cargo is considered oversized and meets the transported standards.
Here are the main things they do transport companies during air travel. But there are also individual conditions that are established between individual clients and the company itself, for each client there may be special conditions, if, of course, they are necessary. For example, if the client wishes, a preliminary consultation may be carried out or another client needs more careful packaging.
Thus, air transportation, like other modes of transport, has its advantages and disadvantages. And when deciding whether to use the services of air transport or other modes - you choose!