jon
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I believe you are referring to the motorized ramps that have a "pilot" at the end nearer the airplanes which dock. I read a little bit about this decades ago, and might try to summarize here:
In some terminal buildings, the jetways need minimal maneuverability because the planes that might dock at that gate are in a small range of sizes, possibly mid-size or small only, and have doors in a narrow range of heights off the ground. When the plane is very small, there is little need for the jetway, and the passengers may enter or leave by the mobile stairway that sits on the ground. When the jetway might be serving a jumbo or an SST like the Concorde, the convenience of the highly mobile jetway ramp is wanted for the many first-class passengers, but the range of height and angle relative to the airplane may vary greatly. A jumbo has far different shape and dimensions from a Concorde. The shape of the plane may dictate that the access doors are a long distance from the terminal structure, so the jetways that must reach it need great extension, great height flexibility, and close retraction in distance or angle -- they must be fully out of the way when the plane is moved.
In some airports, certain aircraft may be pulled away from the terminal by the pilot, instead of a shuttle-tractor. In these cases, safety clearances to the jetway need to be greater.
I doubt that CDG uses these, but a few US airports have "jetway" busses, which load a large number of passengers, travel between the terminal gate and the airplane, and rise or lower using a scissor-lift mechanism to match the doorway being accessed. This multiplies the number of airplanes simultaneously serviced.
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