Behind The Scenes of How A Major Airport Runs

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When you’re an aviation geek, it’s almost inevitable that you’re going to be interested in how airports run. I mean, of course, you see the people who constantly work with the public – the TSA officers, people who work at the restaurants, bars, and shops, the airline employees who check you in, the people who work at the information desks, etc. And you sometimes see the employees who you may not interact with, but who are important to keep the airport running, such as janitorial, security, and maintenance staff. Plus, of course, there’s all the people who work airside to keep the planes going in and out. On top of that, you’ve got all the folks who you never see – the airport’s people in charge, its social media team, and the list goes on and on.

Airports can be compared to miniature cities and it takes hundreds upon hundreds of people to keep them running. Over the course of ten years, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) gave proper due to all those employees you never see, by making a total of 35 short videos called Inside SFO.

Each video shows a different part of SFO. They start with something any aviation geek would be interested in – the airport’s then-new Air Traffic Control tower. But over time the series delved into topics such as what happened, airport-wide, when Air Force One arrives on property, how the Coast Guard is involved at SFO, a salute to SFO’s window washers, landscapers, police K9 team, a behind-the-scenes look at their marketing and aviation development department, noise abatement, info about water salutes, SFO’s Pet Ambassador program, and much, much more.

Although some of the episodes are now a decade old, they still go into a lot of systems that are still used today.

Anyway, if you’re an aviation or airport geek and haven’t seen the series, I strongly recommend it. It’s available on YouTube and it looks as if it started in February 2013 and ran through December 2021. Here are all the episodes of Inside SFO:

#1 – New Air Traffic Control Tower (February 11, 2013)
Welcome to San Francisco International Airport’s new behind-the-scenes video series: Inside SFO. Our first episode features the construction progress of our new Air Traffic Control Tower.

#2 – SFO Museum Recology Exhibition (March 20, 2013)

#3 – Terminal 3, Boarding Area E Renovation (April 18, 2013)

#4 – SFFD Water Salute (May 14, 2013)

#5 – AirTrain (June 14, 2013)

#6 – Window Washers (August 19, 2013)
See how the window washers at SFO are taking cleanliness to new heights!

#7 – SFO’s Hidden World (September 18, 2013)
See the hidden world of the Central Plant in this episode of Inside SFO.

#8 – The Journey of a Bag (November 7, 2013)
Join us as we send our cameras into the baggage system at SFO

#9 – Air Force One Arrival (January 14, 2014)
Take a behind the scenes look at what goes on when the President flies into SFO on Air Force One.

#10 – New Terminal 3 Boarding Area E (January 31, 2014)
Take a tour of the newest renovation at SFO

#11 – Pet Ambassadors at SFO: meet the Wag Brigade (March 12, 2014)
SFO launched a new program, titled “Wag Brigade,” to bring trained dogs to the terminals to make passenger travel more enjoyable.

#12 – SFO’s Training Plane (April 22, 2014)
See how SFO’s own Boeing 767 helps it to conduct realistic emergency training!

#13 – Goats at SFO! (June 19, 2014)
Why does SFO hire a team of goats every summer? Find out in this episode!

#14 – Runway Construction at SFO (July 14, 2014)
Take a tour of the runway construction project happening at SFO!

#15 – Internships at SFO (August 13, 2014)
See how SFO internships provide real-world skills in a wide variety of careers!

#16 – Emergency Exercise (October 22, 2014)
See how SFO uses a highly realistic annual exercise to stay prepared for emergencies!

#17 – The Nerve Center of SFO (November 24, 2014)
Go behind the scenes into SFO’s hidden “Comm Center” facility to see why this is the nerve center of the Airport!

#18 – SFO’s Innovative Lighting System (December 15, 2014)
The team at SFO uses innovative new LED lighting systems for the holiday season, creating one of the largest displays of light in the San Francisco Bay Area!

#19 – Airport Volunteers’ 60th Anniversary (February 17, 2015)
Meet members of the Volunteer Information Program at SFO, as they celebrate 60 years of service to the traveling public!

#20 – Noise Abatement (March 24, 2015)
Meet the Noise Abatement team to find out how they reduce the effect of aircraft noise in the communities surrounding SFO!

#21 – SFO’s New Mobile Command Post (June 1, 2015)
SFO takes emergency preparedness to the next level with the acquisition of a state-of-the-art new mobile command post!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWNkZvftvUA

#22 – New Airport Traffic Control Tower (August 10, 2015)
Get a sneak peak of the new control tower at SFO, opening next year!

#23 – Airport Landscapers (December 21, 2015)
Go behind the scenes to meet the team that creates and maintains the landscaping at SFO!

#24 – Airport Duty Managers (March 16, 2016)
Meet SFO’s round-the-clock operational leaders, the Airport Duty Managers!

#25 – Fleet Services (May 27, 2016)
In this episode, we’ll meet the people who literally keep SFO running like a well-oiled machine.

#26 – Employment & Community Partnerships (September 30, 2016)
Meet the team dedicated to helping people find rewarding careers at SFO!

#27 – Marine Rescue (November 2, 2016)
SFO prepares for all types of emergencies, including incidents on the water. Find out about the Airport’s marine rescue capabilities in this episode.

#28 – Airport ID Badge (January 19, 2017)
Over 39,000 people work at SFO. What do they all have in common? They need an airport-issued identification badge to access the appropriate areas of SFO to do their job. Find out more about airport ID badges in this episode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQRKB11LGrA

#29 – The 90th Anniversary of SFO (May 4, 2017)
The airport that became SFO was commissioned on May 7, 1927. On the 90th anniversary, take a look back a the history of SFO, through archival photos, vintage color film, and audio interviews.

#30 – Airport Police K9 Team (June 26, 2017)
In this previously-unreleased episode of Inside SFO, meet the K9 team of the San Francisco Police Department – Airport Bureau to find out how they keep SFO safe and secure.

#31 – The Race to Zero Waste (November 9, 2017)
SFO has set a goal to have zero waste going to landfill. For an airport that generates 24 million pounds of waste each year, that’s a pretty big deal. Meet the people who are helping SFO to achieve its race to zero…

#32 – Ramp Safety (June 11, 2018)
Go behind the scenes to find out what it’s like to drive on an airport tarmac and how SFO keeps it safe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYm4GOuMIl8

#33 – International Marketing and Aviation Development (March 6, 2019)
Go behind the scenes to find out what it takes to bring in new airlines to SFO.

#34 – Travel Well Ambassadors (January 26, 2021)

#35 – Coast Guard (December 10, 2021)
Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco is a United States Coast Guard Air Station located at the San Francisco International Airport. The air station sits adjacent to the airport which consists of its own ramp, one hangar, an administration building and several other support structures.

Feature Photo (cropped): Håkan Dahlström / Wikimedia / CC BY 2.0

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