Flexible over the wing passenger loading bridge

A passenger loading bridge for servicing an aircraft having a rear doorway aft of or over a wing, comprising:

• a first passenger loading bridge having an outboard end adjustable for servicing a doorway ahead of the wing of the aircraft;
• an articulated passenger loading bridge having an inboard end for being anchored to a rotunda, an outboard end for being cantilevered over the wing of the aircraft to service the rear doorway of the aircraft, and two passageway members pivotally coupled by a flexible connection disposed therebetween to allow a vertical swinging motion of one of the passageway members relative to the other one of the passageway members;
• and
• a stationary passageway element disposed between the first passenger loading bridge and the rotunda, for allowing passengers to move therebetween,
• wherein during use the inclination of a floor surface of each one of the two passageway members of the articulated passenger loading bridge is approximately minimized by positioning the flexible connection approximately above a highest point of the wing of the aircraft.

A method of automatically aligning a passenger loading bridge to an aircraft having a rear doorway aft of or over a wing, comprising the steps of:

• a) automatically determining a type of the aircraft;
• b) retrieving information relating to an expected stopping position for the rear doorway of the determined type of the aircraft;
• c) retrieving other information relating to a predetermined minimum height profile for allowing the passenger loading bridge to maintain a desired minimum safe distance relative to the wing of the aircraft;
• d) waiting for the aircraft to stop;
• e) automatically moving an aircraft engaging end of the passenger loading bridge toward the expected stopping position of the rear doorway for the determined type of the aircraft;
• and
• f) relatively moving outboard and inboard portions of the passenger loading bridge about a flexible connection disposed therebetween, such that during step (e) a point along the lower surface of the passenger loading bridge remains above the predetermined minimum height profile of the wing of the aircraft.

A method of aligning a passenger loading bridge having first and second aircraft engaging ports mounted at an outboard end of first and second passageway members, respectively, to an aircraft having first and second spaced apart doorways along a same side thereof, comprising the steps of:

• a) automatically determining a type of the aircraft;
• b) retrieving information relating to an expected stopping position of one of the first and second doorways for the determined type of the aircraft;
• c) automatically moving a corresponding one of the first and second passageway members, in order to move the aircraft engaging port mounted at the outboard end thereof toward the expected stopping position of the one of the first and second doorways of the aircraft;
• and
• d) engaging the one of the first and second doorways of the aircraft using the aircraft engaging port mounted at the outboard end of the corresponding one of the first and second passageway members, to allow passengers to move therebetween.