Airport Briefing
The Airport Briefing is a comprehensive operational document generated for each airport. It is presented to pilots during the booking briefing phase, with sections filtered by departure or arrival context. Administrators configure the briefing data from the airport edit page, and the platform assembles it into a structured document.
Backoffice path: backoffice/airports/{id}/briefing
Required roles: System Administrator, Administrator
Accessing the Briefing
Open any airport from the Airports list, then navigate to the Briefing tab or section on the airport edit page. The briefing editor displays all seven configurable sections.
Section Ordering
All briefing sections can be reordered per airport using drag-and-drop. The order you set determines how sections appear in the generated briefing document presented to pilots. Adjust the order to match local operational priorities -- for example, placing Threats before Runways at airports with significant hazards.
Briefing Sections
The briefing is composed of seven sections. Each is described in detail below.
1. Runways
Runway records define the physical and operational characteristics of each runway at the airport.
Base Runway Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Designator | The runway designator (e.g. 09L, 27R). |
| Magnetic Heading | The magnetic bearing of the runway centerline. |
| True Heading | The true bearing of the runway centerline. |
| Full Length | The total physical length of the runway. |
| Width | The runway width. |
| TODA | Take-Off Distance Available. |
| LDA | Landing Distance Available. |
| Slope | The runway gradient, expressed as a percentage. |
| ILS Equipped | Whether the runway has an Instrument Landing System. |
| Active | Whether the runway is currently in use. |
| Preferred | Whether this runway is the preferred choice for operations. |
Fleet/Subfleet-Specific Runway Configurations
Each runway can have additional configuration records scoped to a specific fleet or subfleet. These allow you to tailor operational parameters by aircraft type:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Runway Length Override | A custom usable runway length for this fleet/subfleet, overriding the base full length. |
| Flap Configuration | The required flap setting for approach or departure on this runway. |
| Backtrack Required | Whether the aircraft must backtrack (taxi to the end of the runway before takeoff). |
| Tailwind Limit | The maximum allowable tailwind component (in knots) for this fleet/subfleet on this runway. |
| Crosswind Limit | The maximum allowable crosswind component (in knots) for this fleet/subfleet on this runway. |
| Runway Exit | The designated runway exit taxiway after landing. |
These per-fleet configurations feed into the runway configurations section of the generated briefing, giving pilots aircraft-specific guidance.
2. Services
Services represent the ground service providers available at the airport.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Type | The service category. See the list of service types below. |
| Provider Name | The name of the company or organization providing the service. |
| Logo | An optional logo image for the provider. |
| Notes | Free-text notes about the service (hours of operation, special instructions, etc.). |
| Cost | The cost or fee associated with the service. |
Service Types
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Fuel (Gas) | Aviation gasoline refueling. |
| Fuel (Jet) | Jet fuel refueling. |
| Ground Handling | Ramp, baggage, and passenger handling services. |
| Technician | On-site aircraft maintenance technician. |
| Ground Power | External ground power unit (GPU) supply. |
| Air Starter | Pneumatic air start unit for engine start. |
| Catering | In-flight catering and provisioning. |
| Cleaning | Aircraft interior and exterior cleaning. |
| Wheelchair | Wheelchair and reduced-mobility passenger assistance. |
3. Threats
Threats document known safety hazards at the airport. Each threat is displayed with a color-coded badge based on its type, giving pilots immediate visual awareness.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Type | The threat category. See the list of threat types below. |
| Notes | A detailed description of the hazard, its location, and any mitigation procedures. |
Threat Types
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Obstacles | Structures, towers, cranes, or other obstructions in approach/departure paths. |
| General Aviation | Significant GA traffic that may affect commercial operations. |
| Terrain / CFT | Terrain hazards or Controlled Flight into Terrain risks. |
| Irregular Slope | Non-standard runway or apron gradients. |
| Wildlife | Bird strike or animal incursion hazards. |
| Runway Incursion | Known hotspots for runway incursion events. |
| Wind Shear | Documented wind shear or microburst risk areas. |
4. Stands
Stands define the aircraft parking positions at the airport, organized by apron.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Apron Name | The name or identifier of the apron area (e.g. Apron 1, Terminal 2 East). |
| Stand Number | The individual stand or gate number. |
| Airline Restriction | Optionally restrict the stand to a specific airline. |
| Fleet Restriction | Optionally restrict the stand to a specific fleet. |
| Subfleet Restriction | Optionally restrict the stand to a specific subfleet. |
Route Filters
Each stand can optionally filter by the flight's origin and/or destination:
| Filter | Options | Example Use |
|---|---|---|
| Origin Country | IS / IS NOT | Domestic vs. international arrivals |
| Origin Airport | IS / IS NOT | Stands for flights from a specific airport |
| Destination Country | IS / IS NOT | Domestic vs. international departures |
| Destination Airport | IS / IS NOT | Stands for flights to a specific airport |
When set, a stand is only eligible for assignment if the flight's route matches all configured filters. If no route filters are set, the stand is available to all operations.
Stand Assignment
Stands are assigned automatically whenever a booking is created — schedule bookings, custom bookings, sequences, charter legs, ferry legs, repositioning bounties and bookings made through the API all go through the same engine. The arrival stand is chosen at the destination; the departure stand is the stand the aircraft is parked on, and an aircraft that arrived without one (after a ferry, repositioning or diversion) is given one the first time it is booked out.
The engine scores every stand at the airport against the flight and picks the best:
- Eligible stands first. A stand is eligible when its fleet, subfleet and airline filters admit the aircraft and airline (an empty filter admits everything) and its route filters admit the flight's origin (arrivals) or destination (departures).
- Most specific equipment match wins. Each matched filter adds points — subfleet 4, fleet 3, airline 2 — so a stand marked for "Samba A320s" (fleet + airline) outranks one marked only for "Samba", which outranks an unrestricted stand. Any combination of two filters beats any single one, and all three beat any two.
- Then route specificity. Among equally specific equipment matches, a stand whose origin/destination filter matches the flight beats one with no route filter.
- Then occupancy. Aircraft parked on the stand plus bookings already assigned to arrive there. Ties are broken at random on each booking so equal stands share the load.
If no stand admits the aircraft, the engine ignores the equipment filters and assigns the best route-matching stand anyway. If every stand is route-filtered against the flight, it assigns one regardless (preferring stands whose filters are for the other direction) and logs a warning — an imperfect stand beats "no stand data", which the vOCC would otherwise report as an unconfigured airport. When a flight diverts, the arrival stand is re-assigned at the alternate.
When a flight completes, the aircraft's current stand is updated to the arrival stand, and any later bookings departing that airport pick it up as their departure stand.
Airports with no stands configured skip stand assignment entirely -- all stand fields remain empty.
The Stand Simulator under Tools runs this engine for any aircraft, airline and route you choose and shows every stand ranked, with the reason each one was admitted or set aside.
5. Alternates
Alternates designate the approved diversion airports for the current airport, shown to pilots in the arrival context of the briefing.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Alternate Airport | The ICAO code and name of the designated alternate airport. |
| Fleet Scope | Optionally restrict this alternate to a specific fleet. |
| Subfleet Scope | Optionally restrict this alternate to a specific subfleet. |
When a fleet or subfleet scope is set, the alternate only appears in briefings for matching aircraft. If no scope is set, the alternate applies to all operations into this airport.
Declared alternates are also automatically sent to SimBrief when a pilot generates a flight plan. Arrival alternates are pre-filled as the destination alternates (up to 4), and the first departure alternate is pre-filled as the takeoff alternate. Fleet/subfleet filtering is applied so only relevant alternates are included.
6. Runway Configurations
Runway configurations provide fleet-specific performance parameters for each runway. These records consolidate the per-fleet runway data entered in the Runways section into a performance-oriented view, allowing administrators to review and manage all fleet-specific runway settings in one place.
This section works in conjunction with the fleet/subfleet-specific configurations defined on individual runway records (see the Runways section above). Changes made here are reflected in the runway records and vice versa.
7. Operational Notes
Operational notes are free-text entries that communicate important information to pilots. Notes are categorized and context-filtered so that pilots see only the relevant information for their operation.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Category | The severity or nature of the note: Caution, Attention, or Operation. |
| Context | When the note applies: General (shown for both arrival and departure), Arrival (shown only for arrivals), or Departure (shown only for departures). |
| Note Body | The full text content of the operational note. |
Operational notes support drag-and-drop sorting. The order you set determines the display order in the generated briefing. Place the most critical notes at the top.
Note Categories
| Category | Usage |
|---|---|
| Caution | Critical safety information requiring immediate pilot awareness. |
| Attention | Important operational information that pilots should note. |
| Operation | General procedural or informational notes. |
Alternate Airport Briefings in Booking Briefing
When a pilot views the booking briefing, the Airport tab displays subtabs for the departure and arrival airports. If either airport has configured alternate airports (via the Alternates section above), or if the SimBrief OFP includes alternate airports, additional subtabs appear for each alternate:
- Dep Alt subtabs show full briefings for departure alternates (from the departure airport's DB alternates).
- Arr Alt subtabs show full briefings for arrival alternates (merged from the arrival airport's DB alternates and SimBrief OFP alternates, deduplicated by ICAO).
Each alternate briefing renders the same comprehensive document (runways, services, threats, stands, performance, operational notes) but with an "Alternate" context label. The alternates section itself is hidden within alternate briefings to avoid redundancy. Operational notes are filtered to show Arrival and General notes, since a diversion is operationally similar to an arrival.
If no alternates exist, the subtab bar shows only the Departure and Arrival tabs as before.
Automatic Regeneration
The briefing document is automatically regenerated whenever any child data changes. This includes modifications to:
- Runway records or fleet-specific runway configurations
- Services
- Threats
- Stands
- Alternates
- Runway configurations
- Operational notes
A manual regeneration option is also available on the briefing page. Use this if you need to force a refresh of the briefing document without making data changes.
Managing Briefings Through AI Agents
Everything on this page can also be written by an AI agent connected to the MCP Server with the upsert-airport-briefing tool, and read with airport-briefing. The agent only changes the sections it sends, matches existing rows by their natural keys (runway designator, apron and stand, service type and provider, and so on), and goes through the same code as this editor and the V1 API — so the same validation, activity log entries, and document regeneration apply. Service provider logos are still uploaded here.