Outstation (aviation)

For other uses, see Outstation.
Aircraft boarding via airstairs
Outstations may lack specialized passenger infrastructure such as jet bridges.

In commercial aviation, an outstation refers to an airport that is served by an air carrier but is not a hub, a focus city, nor a crew or maintenance base in that operator's network.[1] Outstations often, but not necessarily, take the form of regional airports located in exurban or rural communities which handle lower passenger volumes and less-frequent service than hubs. For these reasons, outstations may lack passenger amenities and services which comprise an airline's typical customer experience standards.[2] When an outstation is served by a hub-and-spoke style airline, it is common for its flights to depart early in the morning and arrive late at night due to scheduling patterns directing aircraft to remain-over-night (RON) for maximum fleet utilization.

  1. ^ Berk, William; Berk, Frank (1996). Guide to Airport Airplanes. Plymouth Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-882663-10-1.
  2. ^ Walton, John (2017-07-23). "Five steps airlines should take to improve outstation #PaxEx". Runway Girl. Retrieved 2022-01-25.