Newsletter
ES
Sign in

Aviation glossary

Jet bridge

Also: airbridge, aerobridge, boarding bridge, passenger boarding bridge

Airports

Enclosed, movable walkway linking the terminal to an aircraft door so that passengers can board and disembark without crossing the apron.

What it is

A jet bridge is telescopic and pivots at its base, so it can extend, rise or fall to match the door height of each aircraft type. An operator drives it from a small cab at the outer end and docks it at the forward left door, the one normally used for boarding. In British English it is usually called an airbridge.

Large aircraft can take two or three bridges at once to speed up boarding, and some airports connect one of them directly to the upper deck of the Airbus A380. Many bridges also supply the aircraft with ground power and conditioned air, allowing its auxiliary power unit to be shut down while it is at the gate.

On Vuelopedia

Airbus A380

Related terms

GatePoint in the terminal from which passengers on a flight reach the aircraft, whether by airbridge, on foot across the apron or by bus. TerminalAirport building where passengers check in, pass through controls, wait for their flight, board and collect their baggage on arrival. ApronArea of an airport where aircraft park to board and disembark passengers, load cargo, refuel and receive line maintenance. APUSmall gas turbine, usually in the tail cone, that supplies electrical power and compressed air when an aircraft's main engines are shut down.
Whole glossary

Cite

To cite this page in academic work, an article or Wikipedia, choose the style and copy the reference. The access date is today.

This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Jet bridge. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/jet-bridge

MLA

“Jet bridge.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/jet-bridge. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Jet bridge.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/jet-bridge.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Jet bridge. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/jet-bridge (Accessed: 17 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_jet_bridge,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Jet bridge}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/jet-bridge},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/jet-bridge}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-17},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-17}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/jet-bridge |title=Jet bridge |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-17 |language=en}}

Explore the encyclopedia

Homethe record of every aircraftAirlinesdocumented fleetsModelsfrom the Airbus A220 to the Boeing 747Compareup to three aircraft, side by sideManufacturerswho builds the aircraft, and their enginesIVCA Rankingair quality, from 0 to 100Newsthe latest from the recordsOn this dayaviation, day by dayVideosone aviation story a day, on videoAirportsthe world's leading onesAccidentswhat every accident changedTimelinethe whole century, 1903 to todayPeoplewho made all of this possibleOn Screenwhen the airliner was the plotTriviaa daily aviation challengeMemoriesa name in an aircraft's historyPresspress releases and Vuelopedia in the mediaYour profilesign in or create your accountAboutwhat Vuelopedia is and who makes it