AVIATION KNOWLEDGE

Many airlines outside the United States subcontract ground handling to an airport or a handling agent, or even
to another airline. Ground handling addresses the many service requirements of a passenger aircraft 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).

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. Airlines may also contract for ground handling
services under the terms of a Standard Ground Handling Agreement (SGHA) that is updated and re-published
from time to time by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the current version is from January
2008. 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. ICAO international civil aviation
organization