Support
Something off with the board?
Email [email protected]. It's just me on the other end, so give me a day or so. The questions below cover most of what comes up.
The board is empty
- Open the settings (the gear) and check that at least one calendar is selected.
- Make sure Airport Board has calendar access: Settings › Privacy & Security › Calendars on iPad and iPhone, or System Settings › Privacy & Security › Calendars on the Mac.
- Finished events roll off, so late in the day an empty board is normal. It says so on the screen.
A calendar I expect isn't in the list
Airport Board only sees calendars that the built-in Calendar app on that device can see. If a Google or Exchange calendar is missing, add the account in Settings › Calendar (or Internet Accounts on the Mac) and make sure its calendars are turned on. Then reopen Airport Board's settings and pick it.
How do I keep the iPad on the board?
Use Guided Access: Settings › Accessibility › Guided Access, turn it on and set a passcode. Open Airport Board, triple-click the Home button (or the top button on iPads without one), and tap Start. To leave, triple-click again and enter the passcode. Set Auto-Lock to Never while you're in there, or plug the iPad in and let Guided Access keep it awake.
What do the statuses mean?
- On Time: scheduled later today.
- Boarding: starts soon. The lead time is adjustable in settings (ten minutes by default).
- Departed: happening right now. This row is highlighted.
- Cancelled: you declined this one. Turn off "Show declined as cancelled" in settings to hide declined events instead.
The Plain theme uses Upcoming, Starting, In Progress, and Cancelled instead.
Why an airport board?
Because I'm a private pilot, and my office shows it. The whole room is aviation themed. A plain schedule outside the door would have looked like it wandered in from accounting. A departures board fits right in. (It was never really a choice.)
It also happens to be the right tool. Airports figured out how to put a day on a wall decades ago: big type, one row per flight, one status word that means something. Swap flights for meetings and nobody has to learn how to read it. They already know.
Where do the flight numbers come from?
The three-letter code is made from the calendar's name: Work becomes WRK, Family becomes FML. (I didn't plan that one. Some days it's accurate.) The number is derived from the event, so the same meeting keeps the same number all day. They're decorative. The Plain theme leaves them off.
Does it need an internet connection?
No. Airport Board reads the calendars already on the device. Your calendars sync however they normally sync; the app doesn't touch the network at all.
Does it cost anything?
No. If you'd like to say thanks, there's a coffee link on the home page.
Requirements
iPadOS 16 or later, iOS 16 or later, or macOS 13 Ventura or later.