AERO Specialties

Airside ground crew coordination and managing every aircraft tug in a ground support equipment (GSE) fleet is a momentous daily responsibility. Preparing for future, and future conditions, is an easy task to overlook during the daily routine. With the approach of winter weather, however, taking extra time to plan can significantly improve operations when poor conditions arrive. Preparing for those conditions is going to work out far more successfully than scrambling to react when they arrive. In short, the best time to prepare for winter is before it hits. Communication Networks for Emergencies There’s no question that establishing, reinforcing, and checking up on intra-airport communication networks is crucial in case of emergencies. When well-planned and maintained, these networks also serve to improve daily operation. The lack of dedicated communication protocols and infrastructure is unfortunately common in a surprising number of aerodromes. There is often ...

Several years ago, airport heads of ground operations were brought together from different parts of the world to discuss the most common problems they face with their ground operations. Their answers had some overlap but were surprisingly different. One of the chief takeaways, however, was that the issues they cited that involved ground crew virtually always involved the crew not having sufficient training. That’s not an uncommon or unexpected finding. Even when identifying the problems they encountered that didn’t specifically name a lack of training, the root of that issue could pretty reliably be attributed to it. Poorly maintained, old and obsolete, and otherwise inadequate ground support equipment (GSE) is likely the second most commonly mentioned. Thankfully, both of these issues can be resolved for safer, more efficient, more financially stable ground operations and a happier ground support crew. Common Ground Operation Issues If there is one specific issu...