Airports: Cities within Cities
Ground operations at commercial airports are a complicated and necessary combination of tools and services. Medium to large airports are more than just planes, control towers, and pilots. There is a hidden or ignored by most skilled staff providing support to aircraft, passengers, and facilities. Then, there is the ground equipment and the contractors that maintain that specialized equipment.
From boarding to off-boarding at your destination, it is the behind-the-scenes work where the most important services take place.
GSE Services
Ground Support Equipment (GSE) are the tools that keep order and provide ground support. A range of vehicles and equipment provide everything needed for ground operations. In turn, GSE requires skilled technicians for its maintenance. Most importantly, GSE Service is essential for safety and efficiency.
Ground power operations provide electricity to parked aircraft. Typically, aircraft have daily maintenance that includes cleaning, restocking, and equipment checks. Without power, these tasks would be difficult. Bathrooms need more than cleaning; the lavatories need draining and refilling by ground support.
More Services
Specialized firefighting trucks and equipment are always at the ready. Fires involving aircraft are quite different than building fires. Aircraft fuels are volatile and explosive requiring water enhancers, fire retardants, foams, and gels. In-flight fire extinguishers and systems need maintenance checks often.
Exterior aircraft cleaning is for more than aesthetics. Dirt and debris affect the aerodynamics negatively. Besides saving fuel, it is an opportunity for ground crews to inspect for damage and fluid leaks. Routine maintenance often follows, and special tools and highly skilled ground support teams are present.
Specialized tow tractors specifically designed to tow all sizes of aircraft take on many tasks with trained operators. Tow tractors are key to keeping an efficient flow at airports. Aircraft may be towed to parking, maintenance stations, terminals, and takeoff staging areas. Relocating aircraft requires tow tractors and towbars. Moving large aircraft when powered up is dangerous and a waste of fuel.
Unloading and loading cargo demands coordination and special cargo vehicles. Cargo loaders and equipment move passenger baggage between aircraft and cargo back and forth to ground transportation. Boarding bridges make all-weather boarding and off-boarding easy and safe. In some cases, passenger stairs are only used under special circumstances; as is often the case, it’s the best way at smaller airports.
De-icing vehicles are especially used for safety. In cold conditions, ice can become hazardous. De-icing fluid helps prevent ice build-up on the wings and the aircraft’s body.
GSE Command Centers
With so much ground support, equipment and personnel coordination is critical. Command centers enforce policy/regulations and supervise ground support. As the decades have passed, more GSE automation has come into use. Automated control systems create efficiencies not known in the 20th century. Manual labor reduces, ground support personnel move to perform other tasks, fuel use diminishes, and emissions lower.
Telematics uses technology to control, monitor, and track ground equipment. This technology gives command center supervisors a clear, concise view of operations. Data analytics collects data from day-to-day activities. The data reveals ways to optimize ground support.
Emerging New Technologies
Airports are increasing investment into emerging technologies at a record pace. Three-dimensional printing (3D printers) gives GSE maintenance contractors a virtual parts inventory. Specifications input into a 3D printer create a part manufactured on the spot. Self-driving vehicles and self-operating equipment are on the verge of viability, and airports are ready to maximize the technology.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is soon to be implemented in airport ground support activities. The implications need to be studied, but AI is here to stay. Expect greater efficiencies and better use of GSE.
GSE Looking Forward
You should know initiatives for greater collaboration between airport operators and GSE manufacturers are paying off. With new procedures and technology, ground support is improving on an already solid system. GSE manufacturers are stepping up with new training protocols, and GSE maintenance contractors are getting the training and support needed to improve safety.
Airports are like cities. All the services and equipment are centrally coordinated. The passengers, pilots, aircraft staff, and all support personnel come together in a working system. Airports are humming along due to the teamwork of all personnel.
