AIRCRAFT GROUND

HANDLING
SERVICE AND EQUIP
MENT
GROUP 6
TABLE OF CONTENT

Equipments Used
Non Powered Equipments
Powered Equipments
Layout of Operations
GROUND HANDLING SERVICE
S
1. On Board servicing
1. Catering Service
2. Cabin Service
2. Ramp Service
3. Passenger Service
4. Field Services
CABIN SERVICE ONBOARD SE
RVICING
 The primary aim of this service offering is to ensure passenger
comfort. While cabin cleaning comprises the bulk of the effort,
it also includes tasks such as replenishing onboard consumable
s (soap, tissues, toilet paper, reading materials) and washable i
tems like pillows and blankets.
Other services are
• Minor servicing of cabin fittings
• Alteration of seat configuration
• Cleaning of carpet area and seats
CATERING SERVICE ONBOAR
D SERVICING
 Catering includes the unloading of unused food and drink fro
m the aircraft, and the loading of fresh food and drink for pass
engers and crew. Airline meals are typically delivered in Airline
service trolleys. Empty or trash-filled trolley from the previous fl
ight are replaced with fresh ones. Meals are prepared mostly o
n the ground in order to minimize the amount of preparation
(apart from chilling or reheating) required in the air.
RAMP SERVICE
 Guiding the aircraft in and out of the parking position (by way of
aircraft marshalling),
• Towing with pushback tractors
• Lavatory drainage
• Water cartage (typically non-potable for lavatory sink use)
• Air conditioning (more common for smaller aircraft)
• Air start units (for starting engines)
• Luggage handling, usually by means of belt loaders and baggag
e carts
• Gate checked luggage, often handled on the tarmac as passeng
ers disembark
RAMP SERVICE

 Air cargo handling, usually by means of cargo dollies and cargo loaders

• Catering trucks
• Refueling, which may be done with a refueling tanker truck or refuelin
g pumper
• Ground power (so that engines need not be running to provide aircraf
t power on the ground)
• Passenger stairs (used instead of an aerobridge or air stairs, some bud
get airlines use both to improve turnaround speed)
• Wheelchair lifts, if required
• Hydraulic mules (units that provide hydraulic power to an aircraft exter
nally)
• De-icing Ramp Service
PASSENGER SERVICE
 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 req
uired to meet a flight on arrival as well as provide departure service
s including boarding passengers and closing the flight.
• Staffing the transfer counters, customer service counters and airl
ine lounges.
FIELD SERVICES
 This service dispatches the aircraft, maintains communication
with the rest of the airline operation at the airport and with Air
Traffic Control.
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Forklifts: they are used to carry pallets especially when ground
handling operations deal with freight.
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Refuelers: Aircraft refuelers can be either a self-contained fuel
truck, or a hydrant truck or cart. Fuel trucks are self-contained,
typically containing up to 10,000 US gallons of fuel and have t
heir own pumps, filters, hoses, and other equipment.
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Tugs & Tractors: The tugs and tractors at an airport have sever
al purposes and represent the essential part of ground support
services. They are used to move all equipment that can not mo
ve itself. This includes bag carts, mobile air conditioning units,
air starters, and lavatory carts.
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Push-back Tractors: it is a good alternative to tow aircrafts as t
ow- bars are not always required. On the other hand, these de
vices are much more expensive than universal tractors coupled
with tow-bars
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 GPU: A ground power unit (GPU) is a vehicle capable of supply
ing power to aircraft parked on the ground. Ground power uni
ts may also be built into the jetway, making it even easier to su
pply electrical power to aircraft.
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Buses: Buses are used to move people from the terminal to eit
her an aircraft or another terminal.
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Container Loader: Container loaders, also known as cargo load
ers or "K loaders", are used for the loading and unloading of c
ontainers and pallets into and out of aircraft.
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Potable Water Trucks: They are special vehicles that provide reli
ability and consistency in the delivery of quality water to an airc
raft. The water is filtered and protected from the elements whi
le being stored on the vehicle. A pump in the vehicle assists in
moving the water from the truck to the aircraft.
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Lavatory Service Vehicles: Lavatory service vehicles empty and r
efill lavatories onboard aircraft. Waste is stored in tanks on the
aircraft until these vehicles can empty them and remove the w
aste. After the tank is emptied, it is refilled with a mixture of w
ater and a disinfecting concentrate, commonly called 'blue juic
e'.
 POWERED EQUIPMENTS
Catering Vehicle: Catering includes the unloading of unused fo

od and drink from the aircraft, and the loading of fresh food an
d drinks for passengers and crew. This is done with the help of t
he Catering vehicle. The meals are typically delivered in standar
dized carts. Meals are prepared mostly on the ground in order t
o minimize the amount of preparation (apart from chilling or re
heating) required in the air.
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 ASU: An air start unit is a vehicle with a built-in gas turbine en
gine which gives the necessary quantity of high- pressure air to
start the engine.
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Belt Loaders: Belt loaders are vehicles with conveyor belts for un
loading and loading of baggage and cargo onto aircraft. A belt
loader is positioned at the door sill of an aircraft hold (baggage
compartment) during operation.
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 De/Anti-icing Vehicles: The procedure of de/anti-icing, protecti
on from fluids freezing up on aircraft, is done from special vehic
les. A hose sprays a special mixture that melts current ice on the
aircraft and also prevents some ice from building up while waiti
ng on the ground.
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Steps: Passenger boarding stairs, sometimes referred to as air-s
tairs, boarding ramps, stair car or aircraft steps, provide a mobi
le means to traverse between the aircraft doors and the groun
d. Because larger aircraft have door sills 5 to 20 feet high, stair
s facilitate safe boarding and deplaning. Smaller units are gene
rally moved by being towed or pushed, while larger units are s
elf-powered. Most models have adjustable height to accommo
date various aircraft. Optional features may include canopies,
heating, supplementary lighting, and a red carpet for VIP passe
ngers
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Transporters: Transporters are cargo platforms constructed so
that, beside loading and unloading containers, they can also ca
n transport the cargo. These are used to carry ULD (Unit Load
Devices), Pallets etc
POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Air Rescue & Firefighting (ARFF): Aircraft rescue and firefighting
(ARFF) is a special category of firefighting that involves the resp
onse, hazard mitigation, evacuation and possible rescue of pass
engers and crew of an aircraft involved in (typically) an airport g
round emergency
NON-POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Dollies: Dollies are used for the transportation of loose baggag
e(s), over-sized baggage(s), mail bags, loose cargo carton box
es, etc. between the aircraft and the terminal or sorting facilit
y.
NON-POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Belts: they are used mostly to carrying smaller loads and bagga
ge when they are not packed in containers.
NON-POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Chocks: Chocks are used to prevent an aircraft from moving w
hile parked at the gate or in a hangar. Chocks are placed in the
front and back of the wheels of landing gear. They are made o
ut of hard wood or hard rubber.
NON-POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Airport Tripod Jack: They are used to support a parked aircraft
to prevent their tail from drooping or even falling to the groun
d. When the passengers in the front get off an aircraft, the airc
raft becomes tail heavy and the tail will droop. Using the jack is
optional and not every aircraft need it.
NON-POWERED EQUIPMENTS
 Tow Bars: They make it possible to tow a given aircraft by a tra
ctor which is clipped to the bar. The main advantage is that yo
u need only one type of tractor to tow all types of aircrafts. Th
e main disadvantage is the high number of staff required to fix
the bar to the aircraft.
LAYOUT OF OPERATIONS
 Ground handling is a multi-task procedure. Since managers wa
nt to save some money for the airlines they work for, they end
eavor to perform simultaneously as many operations as they ca
n.
LAYOUT OF OPERATIONS
LAYOUT OF OPERATIONS