Airports and the flight pickup buffer

Every airport a flight job can pass through has a record here: where its cargo facility is, the agent who handles freight there, the fees and processing time, and how much notice a flight needs before it is worth offering.

Before you start

Airport records mostly need touching for one of two reasons: the details of the cargo facility or agent changed, or flights are being offered too soon after booking to be catchable — which is what the buffer is for.

Steps

1. Go to Admin Manager›System›Flights›Airports.
2. Find the airport — the search screen lists Name, Airport, State and Active, with an Active/Inactive filter — and click its row. The + and per-row copy controls add new records.

3. On the General tab:

• Name and Code — how the airport appears elsewhere.
• The address block — street address, unit or building, city, zip code and state, with a GPS view.
• Cargo Facility Fee and Processing Time — the cost and handling time at that airport.
• Flight Buffer Minutes — the lead time a flight needs before it is offered against a booking. Raise it if flights are being suggested that freight cannot realistically make.
• Agent — who handles the freight at this airport.
• Active — whether the airport is in use.

4. Press SAVE.

Good to know

The buffer is the field that answers the everyday complaint — “why is it offering a flight that leaves in half an hour?” It is set per airport, so a change fixes one airport, not all of them. The airport’s Agent is also why agent records carry per-airport vehicle rates — the two screens describe the same relationship from opposite ends.

If something goes wrong

Flights are offered that can’t be made. The buffer on that airport is too short for its real handling time.

No flights are offered at all for an airport. Check the airport is Active here before investigating anything else.

Related

• The Domestic screen — where flights are assigned to jobs
• Admin Manager overview