Ground handlers play a crucial role in ensuring the smooth operation of air travel. They’re responsible for various tasks that are essential for the turnaround of an aircraft from the time it lands until it takes off again. As such, their processes make all the difference between efficient operations and timely departures versus delays and unhappy customers.

Airports are due to get busier, with forecasts stating the annual number of passengers will reach 8.2 billion by 2037, with China and India becoming two of the largest markets. The service with the largest market share is passenger handling, followed by baggage handling, cargo and mail handling, aircraft handling, then ramp handling.

Many challenges occur as companies provide these services – this article reviews these challenges and how FirstRamp, our comprehensive cloud-based solution, helps customers overcome them.

Ground Handling Challenges

Ground handling is a complex endeavour. As well as the problems caused by paper-based processes, here are a few more challenges plaguing airports every day.

Tight Turnaround Times

Aircraft turnaround is tightly scheduled and highly time-sensitive. Each activity, whether it’s refuelling, baggage handling, or de-icing, needs to be executed swiftly and efficiently. Delays in any of these tasks can have a ripple effect, causing flight delays and disrupting the airport’s overall schedule. The pressure to adhere to these tight turnaround times while maintaining high service quality is a constant challenge for ground handling teams.

Resource Management

Ground handling teams must manage a wide range of resources – from the skilled personnel who manage day-to-day operations to the specialised equipment and vehicles needed on the tarmac.

Efficient coordination and deployment of these resources are crucial to avoid bottlenecks that can lead to delays, increased operational costs, and, ultimately, a decline in service quality.

Adherence to Safety and Compliance Standards

Ground handling is bound by stringent regulations and industry standards. These are in place to ensure the safety of passengers, crew, and ground staff, as well as to maintain the integrity of the aircraft and equipment.

In fact, a new, EU-wide regulation has been proposed by EASA. This would be the first ever to encompass the whole region and would help improve the “safety, cybersecurity and consistency” of ground handling activities.

Failure to comply with such regulations can result in severe legal and financial consequences, not to mention the potential risk to human life and property. That’s why ground handling companies operating at 100 stations could be audited as many as 600 times per year by external stakeholders, according to EASA Acting Executive Director Luc Tytgat. This equates to around 5,000 hours of work.

Ground handling teams must be well-trained and always up to date with the latest safety protocols and regulatory requirements. They should also have suitable tools to make it easier to manage tasks and demonstrate compliance.

Varying Operational Conditions

The conditions at airports can change rapidly and unpredictably. Ground handlers must contend with a variety of challenges, such as changing weather patterns, fluctuating passenger volumes, and a diverse array of aircraft types.

Each of these factors can significantly impact operations. For instance, adverse weather conditions may require additional safety measures, while varying aircraft sizes and configurations necessitate different handling procedures.

Adaptable strategies and flexible operational plans are essential to manage these varying conditions effectively – and to do so within the strict time limits we mentioned earlier.

How FirstRamp Transforms Ground Handling

FirstRamp is an innovative solution to these challenges. So, what is it? Essentially, it’s a cloud based solution that handles everything regarding turnaround planning and servicing. It also handles resource and fleet optimisation and comes with BI tools. Here’s how it improves operations.

Managing Turnaround Tasks

Thanks to its full service capture and tracking capabilities, FirstRamp ensures the efficient planning and execution of turnaround tasks. Ground crews are well-prepared for their tasks, leading to efficient flight servicing and boarding events.

This preparedness – along with real-time information on turnaround times – is crucial for meeting SLAs and minimising the risk of delays and their consequences, including financial penalties.

Efficient Inventory Management

Ground handlers need to manage a diverse inventory, including:

Ground support equipment: Items like tugs, conveyor belts, and passenger steps must be tracked to ensure they are in good working condition and available where and when needed.
Baggage handling supplies: Items like baggage tags, carts, and belts require efficient tracking to ensure smooth handling of passenger luggage.
Fuel: Managing fuel inventory is critical, given its direct impact on flight schedules and safety.
Catering supplies: Food, beverages, and related consumables need careful management to meet the quality and quantity requirements of different flights while minimising waste.
Cleaning supplies: A range of cleaning materials and equipment for maintaining aircraft hygiene.

Efficient and streamlined inventory management reduces waste, ensures the availability of necessary resources, and reduces storage costs. Also, with easy access to inventory information, employees can avoid time-consuming manual checks and focus on more critical tasks.

Data Integration and Accessibility

The platform facilitates seamless data sharing between back-office and mobile applications. This integration ensures that ground crews and fleet personnel are constantly updated, while managers can access comprehensive reporting tools.

This provides operational visibility for auditing purposes, enhances decision-making and operational responsiveness, and enables continuous improvement.

More Benefits

Here are some more general benefits our users enjoy:

Accurate and quick billing: The streamlined invoicing process reduces the time to billing, enhancing financial efficiency.
Global scalability: The system’s global accessibility and ease of implementation make it an ideal solution for airports worldwide, irrespective of their size or location.
Customisable system configuration: With FirstRamp, system configuration is quick and efficient. Users can customise their data recording requirements and processes, allowing for flexibility and adaptability to changing operational needs.

Conclusion

From managing passengers to baggage – from handling aircraft to transporting cargo – ground handling teams have their work cut out for them. Each type of service is fraught with challenges and tight deadlines make it a high-pressure working environment.

Our state-of-the-art software offers a comprehensive, efficient, and adaptable system that addresses the core challenges of ground handling. Teams benefit from tools for turnaround planning and inventory control, while managers gain clear visibility into operations, with comprehensive data to inform process improvements and streamline auditing.

Behind the Scenes of Efficient Airports: Zafire’s Ground Handling Software