Student Chapter Tour of PHL: Capital Improvement Projects
On Saturday, September 16th, our WTS Student Chapter organized a tour of the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to showcase the latest Capital Improvement projects. This event successfully brought together professionals from our industry with engineering and planning students.
The event commenced with a warm welcome and introduction from our Student Chapter Co-Chairs, Student Chapter President, and Student Chapter board members. Our guest speaker Api Appulingam, P.E., A.A.E. then gave a presentation about the PHL Restroom Renovation Program and the Airport Master Plan Update. Ms. Appulingam serves as the Deputy Director of Aviation, Capital Development at both Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE). During the presentation, she discussed the many disciplines that work together within the Capital Development team to keep the airport running smoothly while focusing on customer comfort and satisfaction. Innovation, sustainability, and planning for the future are major focuses within daily operations and in the future of the airport, such as in the Airport Master Plan.
After the initial presentation, the students followed Ms. Appulingam and other PHL volunteers to the airport traffic control tower. In the tower, students learned important information about the responsibilities of traffic control towers, serving as the center for managing ground operations within the gate area and other fundamental rules of airport operation. This tower also provided views of the airfield to see capital improvements in progress such as the decommissioned tower deconstruction and runway resurfacing.
The tour proceeded to the ground level of PHL and observed some examples of the Restroom Renovation Program, a multi-million dollar effort to meet and exceed federal requirements for restrooms. Before wrapping up the event, Jessica Noon (Airport Sustainability Manager, Capital Development) and Allyson Radford (Contract Administrator, Capital Development who works with On Call Public Works contracts) shared updates on the airport’s sustainability developments, such as climate change adaptation, the solar project at the Northeast Philadelphia Airport, and plans for Electric Vehicle charging stations.
The WTS Philadelphia Student Chapter extends its heartfelt gratitude to our sponsors and the dedicated professional volunteers from PHL airport. This event served as an invaluable opportunity for students to gain knowledge and experience, and we are immensely appreciative of our ability to offer this support to them on their educational journey.
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