Airport Operations Field Trip

Students on tour:  Sam, Sue, Prisha and Ryan
Photo courtesy of Sue Jang

For two days last week (July 28 and 29) Airport Operations Class 15 and 16 were exposed to a "Behind the Scenes" tour of both the Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and the King County International Airport (KBFI) during a joint field trip. The airports hosted the lucky BCIT students on extensive airfield and terminal tours and presentations ranging from wildlife and environmental management issues, emergency preparedness and response, community affairs, master planning and daily airport operations activities. This opportunity, and other field trips, provide valuable experience for students who can see the application of skills and knowledge (regulations and aviation business theories) in a working environment.

Sea-Tac management and staff are to be commended for their patience in explaining details that may differ between Canada and the US and for sharing their passion for their airport. Cheryl Cahill escorted the students on the field trip, and noted that the speakers and tour guides from Sea-Tac presented information that directly ties to courses in the Aviation Operations program and the final project. Field trips such as this serve to promote learning in a hands-on way, along with increasing students exposure to various aspects of airport operations.

Students tell us this was a wonderful learning experience and a great opportunity to get to know their classmates on a different level.

Class 15 and 16 field trip to Seattle Airport
photo courtesy of Eden Legaspo