What is BS EN 12312-4 - Specific requirements for passenger boarding bridges about ?
BS EN 12312-4 is a European standard that specifies the technical requirements to minimize the hazards listed in Clause 4 which can arise during the commissioning, operation, and maintenance of passenger boarding bridges (PBBs) when used as intended, including misuse reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer, when carried out by the specifications given by the manufacturer or his authorized representative. BS EN 12312-4 also considers some requirements recognized as essential by authorities, aircraft, and ground support equipment (GSE) manufacturers as well as airlines and handling agencies.
BS EN 12312-4 applies to:
- Apron-drive bridges
- Fixed-head bridges (also referred to as nose-loaders) or pedestal bridges
- Suspended bridges
for embarking/disembarking of passengers.
BS EN 12312-4 is applicable from the interface with the terminal building, which can be movable, e.g., on two levels to separate arrival and departure levels to the connection with the aircraft including fixed tunnels.
BS EN 12312-4 does not apply to:
- Elevating lounges
- Passenger stairs
- Other forms of aircraft access equipment
- Automatic PBB positioning
Note 1: BS EN 12312-4 does not establish requirements for hazards caused by noise and vibration.
Note 2: EN 1915–3 and EN 1915–4 provide the general GSE vibration and noise requirements.
Note 3: BS EN 12312-4 does not apply to PBBs that were manufactured before the date of publication of this standard by CEN.
Who is BS EN 12312-4 - Specific requirements for passenger boarding bridges for ?
BS EN 12312-4 on the specific requirements for passenger boarding bridges is useful for:
- Ground support equipment (GSE) manufacturers
- Airlines industry
- Passenger boarding bridges manufacturers
- Regulatory bodies/compliance authorities
- Maintenance crew for aircraft passenger boarding bridges
- Design engineers
- Quality control personnel
Why should you use BS EN 12312-4 - Specific requirements for passenger boarding bridges ?
BS EN 12312-4 provides you with the health and safety requirements as well as some functional and performance requirements for passenger boarding bridges (PBB) intended for passenger embarking/disembarking of all aircraft types commonly in service in civil air transport. When used at the design stage, BS EN 12312-4 lets you mitigate potential risks at the beginning of the process. As a manufacturer of passenger boarding bridges, you can refer to the guidelines in BS EN 12312-4 to comply with safety regulations.  As a design engineer or a quality control specialist you can improve the quality of products, too.
With obedience and compliance to BS EN 12312-4, you can enhance the efficacy of passenger boarding bridges and manufacture a standardized high-quality product to ensure the reliability of your passenger boarding bridges and build trust in their use throughout the aircraft supply chain.
What’s changed since the last update ?
BS EN 12312-4:2014 supersedes BS EN 12312-4:2003+A1:2009, which is withdrawn. BS EN 12312-4:2014 has included some technical changes compared to BS EN 12312-4:2003+A1:2009. These include:
- The Introduction and scope were updated
- Clause 2, Normative references, was updated and terms and definitions, for terminal/terminal building and fixed tunnel/bridge link were added
- Clause 6, Information for use, was changed with additional warnings being added to subclause 6.3
- Clause 7, Verification of requirements, was changed
