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In aviation, aircraft ground handling or ground operations defines the servicing of an aircraft while it is on the ground and (usually) parked at a terminal gate of an airport.
Many airlinessubcontract ground handling to airports, handling agents or even to another airline. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), conservative estimates indicate airlines outsource more than 50 per cent of the ground handling that takes place at the world's airports.[1] Ground handling addresses the many service requirements of an airliner between the time it arrives at a terminal gate and the time it departs on its next flight. Speed, efficiency, and accuracy are important in ground handling services in order to minimize the turnaround time (the time during which the aircraft must remain parked at the gate).[2] Faster turnarounds for lower ground times are correlated to better profits.[3]
Airlines with less-frequent service or fewer resources at a particular location sometimes subcontract ground handling or on-call aircraft maintenance to another airline, as it is a short-term cheaper alternative to setting up its own ground handling or maintenance capabilities.
Airlines may participate in an industry-standard Mutual Assistance Ground Service Agreement (MAGSA). The MAGSA is published by the Air Transport Association (the current version is from 1981) and is used by airlines to assess prices for maintenance and support to aircraft at so-called MAGSA Rates, which are updated annually based on changes in the U.S. Producer Price Index.[citation needed] Airlines may choose to contract for ground handling services under the terms of a Standard Ground Handling Agreement (SGHA) published in the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Airport Handling Manual.[4] Airlines may also contract for ground handling services under non-standard terms.
Most ground services are not directly related to the actual flying of the aircraft, and instead involve other tasks. The major categories of ground handling services are described below.
Aircraft Appearance and Provisioningedit
Services related to aircraft cleanliness and passenger comfort:
Cabin Cleaning - Cleaning Seats, Galleys, and Lavatories. Resetting the cabin (Folding seatbelts, uniform seat and window shade position) to appear untouched.
Lavatory Service - Exterior service of lavatory by draining and filling of waste tanks.
Provisioning - Replacing literature, blankets, pillows, and consumable supplies.
Security Search - Searching aircraft for prohibited items as required by airline policy or regulatory requirement.
Water Service - Exterior service of aircraft water system by filling tank with potable water for use inflight.
Catering includes the unloading of unused food and drink from the aircraft, and the loading of fresh food and drink for passengers and crew. In flight airline meals are delivered at the seats in airline service trolleys. Empty or trash-filled trolley from the previous flight are replaced with fresh ones. Meals are prepared mostly on the ground in order to minimize the amount of preparation (apart from chilling or reheating) required in flight.
While some airlines provide their own catering, others have either owned catering companies in the past and divested themselves of the companies, or have outsourced their catering to third-party companies. Airline catering sources include the following companies:
Providing check-in counter services for the passengers departing on the customer airlines.
Providing gate arrival and departure services. The agents are required to meet a flight on arrival as well as provide departure services including boarding passengers and closing the flight.
Staffing the transfer counters, customer service counters and airline lounges.
Field operation serviceedit
This service dispatches the aircraft, maintains communication with the rest of the airline operation at the airport and with Air Traffic Control.
List of notable handling agentsedit
This article may contain unverified or indiscriminate information in embedded lists. Please help clean up the lists by removing items or incorporating them into the text of the article.(October 2021)
^"GATWICK GROUND SERVICES LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk.
^"Signature BHX | Fixed Base Operator (FBO) at Birmingham Airport". www.signatureflight.com.
Further readingedit
ISO 9001:2008—Quality management systems
External linksedit
Media related to Aircraft ground handling at Wikimedia Commons
International Air Transport Association, , International Air Transport Association, archived from the original on 2013-09-27, retrieved 2013-09-25
, archived from the original on 2013-10-29
January 01, 1970
aircraft, ground, handling, this, article, contain, excessive, irrelevant, examples, please, help, improve, article, adding, descriptive, text, removing, less, pertinent, examples, october, 2021, this, article, lead, section, short, adequately, summarize, poin. This article may contain excessive or irrelevant examples Please help improve the article by adding descriptive text and removing less pertinent examples October 2021 This article s lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article October 2021 In aviation aircraft ground handling or ground operations defines the servicing of an aircraft while it is on the ground and usually parked at a terminal gate of an airport Aircraft ground handling of a Lufthansa Airbus A380 at Frankfurt Airport in Germany Contents 1 Overview 1 1 Aircraft Appearance and Provisioning 1 2 Catering 1 3 Ramp service 1 4 Passenger service 1 5 Field operation service 2 List of notable handling agents 2 1 Asia 2 1 1 Bangladesh 2 1 2 India 2 1 3 Hong Kong 2 1 4 Japan 2 1 5 Korea 2 1 6 Laos 2 1 7 Nepal 2 1 8 Pakistan 2 1 9 Singapore 2 1 10 Philippines 2 1 11 Taiwan 2 1 12 Thailand 2 2 The Caribbean 2 2 1 Barbados 2 2 2 Jamaica 2 2 3 St Vincent and the Grenadines 2 3 Europe 2 3 1 Belgium 2 3 2 Cyprus 2 3 3 Denmark 2 3 4 Finland 2 3 5 France 2 3 6 Greece 2 3 7 Ireland 2 3 8 Italy 2 3 9 Latvia 2 3 10 Lithuania 2 3 11 Netherlands 2 3 12 Norway 2 3 13 Poland 2 3 14 Portugal 2 3 15 Sweden 2 3 16 Switzerland 2 3 17 Turkey 2 3 18 United Kingdom 2 4 Middle East 2 5 North and Central America 2 5 1 Canada 2 5 2 Cuba 2 5 3 Mexico 2 5 4 United States 2 6 South America 2 6 1 Peru 2 6 2 Uruguay 2 7 Oceania 2 7 1 Australia 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksOverview edit nbsp Icelandair Boeing 757 being serviced by another airline SAS at Gardermoen Airport nbsp A ground handling tug pulls a British Airways Boeing 747 400 at Heathrow Airport England nbsp Airbus A380 800 operated by Qatar Airways on apron outside Heathrow Terminal 4 with a wide range of ground handling equipments around such as aircraft container pallet loader ULD jet air starter belt loader pushback tug catering vehicles and dollies Many airlines subcontract ground handling to airports handling agents or even to another airline According to the International Air Transport Association IATA conservative estimates indicate airlines outsource more than 50 per cent of the ground handling that takes place at the world s airports 1 Ground handling addresses the many service requirements of an airliner between the time it arrives at a terminal gate and the time it departs on its next flight Speed efficiency and accuracy are important in ground handling services in order to minimize the turnaround time the time during which the aircraft must remain parked at the gate 2 Faster turnarounds for lower ground times are correlated to better profits 3 Airlines with less frequent service or fewer resources at a particular location sometimes subcontract ground handling or on call aircraft maintenance to another airline as it is a short term cheaper alternative to setting up its own ground handling or maintenance capabilities nbsp Catering truck at Chania International Airport Credit Marius Vassnes Airlines may participate in an industry standard Mutual Assistance Ground Service Agreement MAGSA The MAGSA is published by the Air Transport Association the current version is from 1981 and is used by airlines to assess prices for maintenance and support to aircraft at so called MAGSA Rates which are updated annually based on changes in the U S Producer Price Index citation needed Airlines may choose to contract for ground handling services under the terms of a Standard Ground Handling Agreement SGHA published in the International Air Transport Association IATA Airport Handling Manual 4 Airlines may also contract for ground handling services under non standard terms Most ground services are not directly related to the actual flying of the aircraft and instead involve other tasks The major categories of ground handling services are described below Aircraft Appearance and Provisioning edit Services related to aircraft cleanliness and passenger comfort Cabin Cleaning Cleaning Seats Galleys and Lavatories Resetting the cabin Folding seatbelts uniform seat and window shade position to appear untouched Lavatory Service Exterior service of lavatory by draining and filling of waste tanks Provisioning Replacing literature blankets pillows and consumable supplies Security Search Searching aircraft for prohibited items as required by airline policy or regulatory requirement Water Service Exterior service of aircraft water system by filling tank with potable water for use inflight Catering edit Main article Catering Catering includes the unloading of unused food and drink from the aircraft and the loading of fresh food and drink for passengers and crew In flight airline meals are delivered at the seats in airline service trolleys Empty or trash filled trolley from the previous flight are replaced with fresh ones Meals are prepared mostly on the ground in order to minimize the amount of preparation apart from chilling or reheating required in flight While some airlines provide their own catering others have either owned catering companies in the past and divested themselves of the companies or have outsourced their catering to third party companies Airline catering sources include the following companies Airline Services amp Logistics PLC EPZE Atlas Catering Royal Air Maroc Cara Operations Cathay Pacific Catering Services Cathay Pacific DHL Supply Chain Gate Gourmet KLM Catering Services KLM LSG Sky Chefs Sky Cafe Q Catering Qantas SATS Food Servair Thai Catering Services Thai Airways Ramp service edit nbsp Luggage being unloaded from a Northwest Airlines Boeing 757 200 at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol nbsp A British Airways aircraft being refueled nbsp KLM Pushback tractor and a ground power unit nbsp Lavatory drainage This includes services on the ramp or apron such as Guiding the aircraft into and out of the parking position by way of aircraft marshalling Towing with pushback tractors Pre Conditioned Air and Heating Airstart units for starting engines Luggage handling usually by means of beltloaders and baggage carts Gate checked luggage often handled on the tarmac as passengers disembark Air cargo handling usually by means of cargo dollies and cargo loaders Ground power so that engines need not be running to provide aircraft power on the ground Passenger stairs used instead of an aerobridge or airstairs some budget airlines use both to improve turnaround speed PIGS Passenger Integrated Guidance System a retractable barrier is used to ensure passengers do not walk underneath the wings 5 Wheelchair lifts if required Deicing Passenger service edit nbsp Business jet cleaning This includes services inside the airport terminal such as Providing check in counter services for the passengers departing on the customer airlines Providing gate arrival and departure services The agents are required to meet a flight on arrival as well as provide departure services including boarding passengers and closing the flight Staffing the transfer counters customer service counters and airline lounges Field operation service edit This service dispatches the aircraft maintains communication with the rest of the airline operation at the airport and with Air Traffic Control List of notable handling agents editThis article may contain unverified or indiscriminate information in embedded lists Please help clean up the lists by removing items or incorporating them into the text of the article October 2021 Asia edit Bangladesh edit nbsp Biman Bangladesh Airlines India edit nbsp Air India Airport Services Limited All Indian Airports presently providing services at 74 airports in India nbsp Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited Delhi Hyderabad Bangalore Trivandrum Mangalore Cochin nbsp LAS Ground Force Handling Goa Udaipur amp Bagdogra nbsp Bhadra International India Pvt Ltd Chennai nbsp Bird Worldwide Flight Services Pvt Ltd Delhi Mumbai amp Kochi nbsp Livewel Aviation Mumbai amp Delhi nbsp Globe Ground India Ahmadabad Bangalore nbsp Indo Thai Airport Management Services Pvt Ltd Amritsar Lucknow amp Mohali nbsp Agile Airport Services Pvt Ltd presently providing services at 8 airports in India Hong Kong edit nbsp Cathay Pacific nbsp Hong Kong Airport Services parent company Cathay Pacific nbsp Jardine Aviation Services parent company Jardine Matheson nbsp SATS HK parent company Hong Kong Airlines nbsp United Airlines Japan edit nbsp All Nippon Airways nbsp JAL Ground Service nbsp Japan Airport Ground Handling nbsp Japan Airport Service Co Ltd nbsp International Air Cargo Terminal Co Ltd Korea edit nbsp Korea Airport Service nbsp Asiana Airport Service nbsp DongBo Airport Service Laos edit nbsp Andaman Aviation Services Nepal edit nbsp Nepal Airlines Kathmandu Pakistan edit nbsp Pakistan International Airlines nbsp Shaheen Airport Services Pvt Ltd nbsp Gerry s dnata Pvt Ltd nbsp Royal Airport Services Pvt Ltd Singapore edit nbsp SATS Ltd nbsp dnata Singapore nbsp Universal Aviation 6 Philippines edit nbsp Airmach Aviation nbsp 1 Aviation nbsp dnata Philippines nbsp MacroAsia Airport Services Corporation nbsp MDFS PHILIPPINES nbsp Philippine Airport Ground Support Solutions Taiwan edit nbsp China Airlines Co Ltd nbsp Taoyuan International Airport Services Co Ltd nbsp Taiwan Airport Service Co Ltd nbsp Evergreen Airlines Service nbsp Taiwan Sky Ground Service Co Ltd Thailand edit nbsp Wingspan Services Co Ltd nbsp BAGS Ground Services Co Ltd nbsp Andaman Aviation Services nbsp AOTGA AOT Ground Aviation Services Co Ltd The Caribbean edit Barbados edit nbsp Caribbean Aircraft Handling Co Ltd Jamaica edit nbsp AJAS Aviation Services nbsp Eulen America nbsp GCG Ground Services Jamaica nbsp Jamaica Dispatch Services Ltd St Vincent and the Grenadines edit nbsp Caribbean Aviation Management Inc Europe edit Belgium edit nbsp Aviapartner Cyprus edit nbsp LGS Handling CTT Aviation Ltd nbsp SWISSPORT Denmark edit nbsp SAS SGH Ground handling Finland edit nbsp AIRPRO France edit nbsp Groupe Europe Handling nbsp 3S Alyzia nbsp Aviapartner nbsp Ladybird Ground Services nbsp Samsic Assistance 7 nbsp Servair Greece edit nbsp Goldair nbsp Skyserv nbsp Swissport hellas Ireland edit nbsp Sky Handling Partner Italy edit nbsp Airport Handling nbsp Aviapartner nbsp Aviation Services Latvia edit nbsp HAVAS Ground Handling Co Lithuania edit nbsp Baltic Ground Services nbsp Litcargus Netherlands edit nbsp KLM groundhandling Norway edit nbsp Menzies Aviation nbsp SAS Ground Handling Poland edit nbsp Baltic Ground Services nbsp LS Airport Services nbsp Welcome Airport Services Portugal edit nbsp Groundforce Portugal nbsp Portway Sweden edit nbsp SAS Ground Handling nbsp AVIATOR Ground Handling nbsp Menzies Aviation Switzerland edit nbsp Swissport nbsp dnata nbsp AAS Turkey edit nbsp Turkish Ground Services nbsp HAVAS Ground Handling Co nbsp Celebi Ground Handling Inc nbsp FUGO Ground Handling Inc United Kingdom edit nbsp Airline Services nbsp American Airlines Handling Subsidiary of American Airlines 8 nbsp Aviator Nordic nbsp Azzurra Premiere Handling nbsp Blue Handling joint venture between Ryanair and OmniServ 9 nbsp British Airways nbsp Cobalt Ground Solutions 10 nbsp DHL nbsp Dnata nbsp Gatwick Ground Services Subsidiary of British Airways 11 nbsp Jet2 Handling nbsp Menzies Aviation nbsp Signature Flight Support 12 nbsp Star Handling nbsp Swissport GB nbsp World Flight Services WFS nbsp Premiere Executive Handling Ltd nbsp ASC Handling Services Middle East edit nbsp ASE Egypt Member ASE Group nbsp ASE UAE Member Of ASE Group nbsp SE Morocco Member Of ASE Group nbsp New Star Aviation Services nbsp dnata Also active in other countries nbsp Egypt Air Ground Services nbsp Saudi Private Aviation SPA nbsp Saudia Cargo nbsp Saudia Ground Services SGS nbsp HAVAS Ground Handling Co nbsp Oman Air nbsp Shaheen Airport Services nbsp Royal Airport Services nbsp Gerry s dnata nbsp Airways Flight Support Services nbsp BAS Bahrain Airport Services nbsp QAS Qatar Aviation Services nbsp El Al nbsp Laufer GHI nbsp QAS Quality Airport Services nbsp Aerohandling North and Central America edit Canada edit nbsp Swissport nbsp Airport Terminal Services ATS nbsp Menzies Aviation nbsp GTA Dnata nbsp Air North nbsp Strategic Aviation nbsp Global Aviation nbsp Ironman Holdings nbsp Allied Aviation nbsp Air Canada Cuba edit nbsp ECASA Mexico edit nbsp Kion de Mexico nbsp Aeromexico Servicios United States edit nbsp Alliance Ground International and Subsidiaries Airport Terminal Services ATS Total Airport Services TAS nbsp Dnata nbsp G2 Secure Staff nbsp GAT Airline Ground Support nbsp McGee Air Services nbsp Menzies Aviation nbsp Swissport nbsp Trego Dugan Aviation nbsp Unifi Aviation nbsp United Ground Express nbsp Worldwide Flight Services WFS WFS Express South America edit Peru edit nbsp Swissport nbsp Talma Servicios Aeroportuarios Uruguay edit nbsp Candysur S A Oceania edit Australia edit nbsp Swissport nbsp Oceania Aviation nbsp DnataSee also editFlight kitchen Ground support equipmentReferences edit International Air Transport Association Ground Handling International Air Transport Association archived from the original on 5 October 2013 Gomez F Scholz D 2009 Improvements to ground handling operations and their benefits to direct operating costs PDF Hamburg University of Applied Sciences archived from the original PDF on 28 October 2013 The correlation between airline ground time and profits AirInsight May 8 2017 International Air Transport Association Airport Handling Manual AHM International Air Transport Association archived from the original on 18 October 2013 Wignall Alec 27 November 2022 How it works the aircraft turnaround AeroTime Aerotime Retrieved 28 December 2023 FBO Ground Handling in Singapore WSSL Universal Aviation Retrieved 17 January 2020 Services assistance aeroport Handling assistance en escale Samsic London Heathrow United Kingdom LHR www aa com Ryanair Appoints Handler at London Stansted Airport Ryanair s Corporate Website Cobalt Ground Solutions GATWICK GROUND SERVICES LIMITED Overview free company information from Companies House beta companieshouse gov uk Signature BHX Fixed Base Operator FBO at Birmingham Airport www signatureflight com Further reading editISO 9001 2008 Quality management systemsExternal links edit nbsp Media related to Aircraft ground handling at Wikimedia Commons International Air Transport Association IATA Ground Handling Council International Air Transport Association archived from the original on 2013 09 27 retrieved 2013 09 25 Ground Handling International archived from the original on 2013 10 29 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Aircraft ground handling amp oldid 1221241626, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
