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Ground handling - Articles and news items
Issue 5 2011 / 5 October 2011 /
Today there are a number of diverse technologies available to aid operational staff in their work to prevent runway incursions and excursions and assure runway safety. The kinds of technologies we refer to include systems for air traffic controllers, pilots and manoeuvring area vehicle drivers and provide an alert that a runway is in use or situational guidance to those operating on the manoeuvring area.
Runway alerting systems for pilots and vehicle drivers can be extremely effective but one significant drawback is that for many runway incursions the prime causal factor is a breakdown in communication between the controller and the vehicle driver or pilot – in short they believe they have received a valid clearance to enter a runway. Likewise for controllers, their surveillance based alerting systems have, and will continue to, save many serious incidents – however the alerting time on occasions can be very brief – almost too brief for any effective action to be taken. Consider the situation where a pilot, for whatever reason, crosses a runway holding point and starts moving towards the runway, he will get to the edge of the runway in seconds. In that time the system will need to detect the situation – alert the controller. The controller needs to work out from the display where the incident is and what the best course or recovery action is – and remember he may well be very busy. The situation and avoiding action needs to be conveyed to a pilot who needs to understand what is being said and react accordingly – clearly this could be very difficult in just a few seconds. (more…)
Issue 4 2011 / 8 August 2011 /
Many interesting and exciting developments have occurred since the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) began in May 2008. Back then, it was a grand plan to get ground operations audited in order to enhance safety on the ramp while reducing industry audits. Only three years after its introduction to the aviation industry, ISAGO has become a household name for quality audits, resulting in increased levels of safety. Now totalling more than 350 audits, ISAGO audits are being carried out in more than 120 locations worldwide.
Programme growth
The growth and development of ISAGO is the result of the dedication and vision of many key industry stakeholders. First and foremost, the 41 ISAGO pool member airlines have made the programme stronger than ever. Each one of them has provided numerous auditors in the implementation of stricter standards that no regulatory entity has ever implemented before. Ironic as it may seem, despite ground handling being such a very important component of the aviation industry, it nevertheless lacks standardised oversight. (more…)
Issue 6 2010 / 13 December 2010 /
Working airside has never been short of hazards. Airport operators and regulators have long concentrated safety planning on protecting those individuals working on ramps, aprons, taxiways and runways. Unfortunately, ground handling incidents continue to rise worldwide, resulting in injuries to personnel and damage to aircraft and property. Additionally, the use, and indeed, misuse of vehicles in airside areas has led to major operational disruption at busy airports. (more…)
Issue 5 2010 / 1 October 2010 /
The worldwide trend towards ever safer GSE
No airport in the world, be it the smallest, can operate today without some fleet of aircraft ground equipment (GSE). How is it possible, with so many equipment types in thousands of airports in all the countries in the world, to immediately know what a given piece of GSE, wherever it is used, is capable of? Standards are the answer. And standards for GSE have been developed over four decades by several organisations in the industry, culminating in International Standards that give them the necessary worldwide application. (more…)
Issue 3 2010 / 9 June 2010 /
Aircraft taxi operations are a significant source of energy consumption and emissions at airports. In 2007, an estimated 4,000 tons of hydrocarbons, 8,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and 45,000 tons of carbon monoxide were emitted through taxi-out operations at U.S. airports1. These pollutants contribute to low-altitude emissions, directly impact local nonattainment of air pollution standards, and represent an endangerment to human health and welfare.
Given increasing fuel prices and concern about aviation-related environmental impacts, airlines have implemented a number of practices to reduce fuel burn during ground operations. (more…)
Issue 2 2010 / 5 April 2010 /
Following on from the successful “Arrivals Code of Practice”, UK aerospace industry experts from the airlines, airports, air traffic controllers, CAA and DfT chaired by A|D|S, have been working towards a similar Code of Practice for Ground Operations and Departing Aircraft.
A ‘Departures and Ground Operations Code of Practice’ has been developed by experts in the UK from airports, airlines, the UK air navigation service provider (NATS), CAA, DfT as well as the aerospace manufacturer’s trade organisation, A|D|S, who took on the running of this project. The aim of this exercise was to try to define what current ‘best practice’ looked like and then attempt to promote this across the whole industry. One positive aspect has been that, along the way, the group has helped to dispel some myths and misconceptions, both at the UK and at the international level via ICAO.
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Issue 4 2008, Past issues / 1 August 2008 /
There has been an almost global trend to reduce the economic regulation of transportation markets. This has sometimes extended beyond the airline market and is gradually being seen in other components of the air transportation supply chain, such as airports and ground handlers.
The aviation industry is undoubtedly among the fastest growing in the world today, be it in terms of aircraft fleet, traffic growth or even revenues. Faster and wider aircrafts have appeared on the scene, allowing a much wider range of travellers capable of indulging in air travel. With liberal policies, travellers are offered more choice and variety in their mode of travel. Competitive pricing of services and the advent of low cost and no-frills airlines will be the order of the day.
In recent times, global liberalisation has had a dramatic impact on many facets of life, possibly most so on the world economy, with countries opening up their doors to free trade and commerce. This openness in trade is the automatic cause of better products and services being delivered at better prices, making the consumer the kingpin in the market. (more…)
Issue 6 2007, Past issues / 30 November 2007 /
Ground handling and Ramp operations represent two of the most important aspects of an international airline’s operations. They affect the exercise of its basic market access rights. It is also an important factor for air carriers in terms of operating costs, service levels and the image portrayed to users. Ground handling is sometimes provided by the airports themselves, but at most airports it is provided by airlines or concessionaires.
An airport ramp is a community of relationships and its success relies on how well these relationships are working. Managers have to orchestrate a great deal of activity within a small area, around a magnificently expensive piece of equipment, in a very short space of time.
Ramp operations are a very important part of the whole operation of an aircraft. Ramp handling covers the loading and unloading of baggage, air cargo and air-mail onto the aircraft and transportation between the aircraft and the passenger terminal, air cargo terminals and the air-mail centre. In addition to this, ramp-handling services cover preparations for the delivery onto aircraft of bulk baggage and baggage containers, aircraft loading bridge operations and passenger stairs operations. As we can see, it is a very complex situation where delivery precision and safety are very important issues. (more…)
Issue 4 2007, Past issues / 31 July 2007 /
In this Q & A session we brought together three heads of ground handling from three very different regions, to see how their outlooks varied. (more…)
Issue 2 2007, Past issues / 3 April 2007 /
Athens International Airport’s mission in the area of ground handling can be summarised as “ensuring the reliable supply of quality services at an optimal price level”. In pursuit of this objective, Athens International Airport S.A. (AIA) is actively involved in a triangular relationship with the ground handling providers and the airlines, and cooperates closely with all other key stakeholders, including the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, Customs and Police Authorities, and the various international air transport associations (ACI, IATA, EU DG Trend). (more…)
Issue 1 2007, Past issues / 6 February 2007 /
It is a fact that airports currently face the challenge of constantly increasing air traffic demand. Very few new airports are planned or under construction, and a saturated infrastructure will, in turn, make the job of maintaining maximum operational efficiency more and more complex.
With the division of liability for Ground Handling functions varying at European airports, and the ever increasing pressure to deliver and maintain service level agreements with Airlines, Airport Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) will aid ground handling companies to maximise the use of resources with improved planning opportunities. (more…)
Issue 3 2006, Past issues / 11 September 2006 /
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that ground damage costs airlines US$4 billion per year. Mike O’Brien reports on efforts to reduce the cost 50% by 2010 through the Ground Damage Prevention Programme (GDPP).
One of the pillars of the GDPP, launched in 2005, is the development of the IATA registration programme for ground service providers (GSPs). This is based on the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) framework. The IOSA programme for airlines was established in mid-2003 with the twin aims of improving operational safety and driving down the number of redundant audits. It achieves these aims by having: (more…)
Issue 2 2006, Past issues / 16 June 2006 /
Question: How can an inherently simple activity of moving a suitcase from one place to another be so complex? Answer: When it takes place at an airport.
The task of taking a bag from a passenger at check-in and delivering it to the correct aircraft is not without its challenges and most air passengers will, at one time or another, have discovered that it does not always work properly. However, that is not the subject of this article, nor is it the source of the complexity asserted above. Rather, this article looks at the institutional and organisational complexity that arises in the provision of ground handling services at airports.
Ground handling covers far more, of course, than the handling of baggage; this is only one of many aspects of passenger handling, ramp handling, cargo handling, and fuel and oil handling. With such a diversity of operations, it is small wonder that at most airports there is a myriad of specialist suppliers of particular categories of services to airlines and other aircraft operators. Airport operators have a very significant interest in these activities because of their overall responsibility for safety and security, as well as their commercial interest in creating an environment in which airlines are able to offer efficient and low cost services that encourage growth. (more…)
Issue 4 2005, Past issues / 25 November 2005 /
With airport capacity expected to become the major bottleneck in the future, the optimal usage of existing infrastructure is increasingly becoming a must, writes Michael Roeder.
After touch down, pilots have to navigate using paper maps with controllers still performing surveillance visually. Radio voice transmission remains the primary means of communication. The controller is supported by the primary airport radar SMR, which gives him an analogue display with a lot of clutter and false targets. In order to ensure safety under bad weather conditions, low visibility procedures are used to handle the poor technology support. This compromises airport throughput and increases delays, which has repercussions for the approach areas and finally, network effects on the overall air transport system. (more…)
Issue 4 2005, Past issues / 25 November 2005 /
The state of play on the ramps and aprons of the world’s airports reflects the state of the industry in general, airline efficiency and advances in technology.
Ground handling plays a vital role in the operation of an airport. Even though an increasing number of airports throughout the globe are looking to sources of revenue separate from aeronautical ones, the turnaround of aircraft with passengers and cargo remains a core market. There is little surprise then that attention in the industry focuses on the safe and efficient turnaround of aircraft at the apron. What are the factors that influence the operational environment, and how can one be sure that regulations are met as well as targets? (more…)
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