Aircraft ground handling is composed of numerous ramp activities that support the aircraft before or after flight.

Each of this activity requires equipment to fulfill various tasks. Can you identify some of it?

As the aircraft design shifts from narrow to

wide-body type, the need to use more
technologically advanced equipment becomes
evident due to the following reasons:

Accuracy - The innovation in Ground

Servicing Equipment allowed the use of
computers that enable pinpoint precision in
their operations such as the exact voltage to
be supplied by a GPU, the setting of
temperature to be supplied by the ACU, and
many more.

Human Strength Limitation - The increase

in the dimension of the aircraft and its
servicing equipment made the use of manual
force impractical and impossible. This
limitation required the improvement in the
design of pushback tractors to be able to tow
a multi-ton aircraft, catering trucks to be able
to load a galley cart on the aircraft at heights
more than 20 feet from the ground and many
more.

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 Time - As airlines are targeting to have the shortest turn-
around time possible and on time performance in
between flights, ensuring that all tasks are done correctly
and completely as per set time frame is of paramount
importance. To put into perspective, the best-selling
commercial aircraft which are the Boeing B737 and the
Airbus A320 would only take around 45 minutes of
ground servicing before being dispatched for its next
flight.

Efficiency - It is important to emphasize the

fact that the fewer people and equipment
around the aircraft, the lesser the chances of
aircraft damage and accidents. This safety
concern required ground servicing
equipment to be continuously improved to
need the least amount of personnel to
operate and combine the different functions
into one piece of equipment such as a
pushback tractor with a built-in GPU.

Safety – As previously mentioned,

personnel will surely make errors and/or
mistake that may lead to injury to them
and/or damage to the aircraft. The same is
true for equipment failure. For this purpose,
the aviation industry avoids complacency at
every phase of its operations. To attain this,
experts are constantly looking to develop
technologies, training, and processes that
would improve quality and safety in flight
operations.

"Professionals are continuously looking to develop technology and

processes that would improve safety in the operation of the aircraft."

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Types of Ground Servicing Equipment

Ground Servicing Equipment are generally used for two purposes which are:

Equipment for Servicing - This covers equipment that are generally used to directly perform or aid
the personnel servicing on the aircraft.

As a guide, servicing equipment can deliver input to the aircraft such as water, electricity, cargo, galley
items and help passenger embarkation while also possible to receive output from the aircraft such as
waste, cargo and help passengers' disembarkation.

Equipment for
Maintenance - These cover
equipment that are generally
used to perform
maintenance of the aircraft.
They are used to transport
personnel, tools, and spare
parts toward elevated access
or servicing points of the
aircraft.

Career
Tip #1
Contact manpower
agencies who are
contracted by MROs,
airlines and other aviation
companies. They have the
highest hiring rate if you
want to pursue your
career in aircraft ground
handling and aircraft
marshalling.

XVook 1 / Aircraft Ground Handling and Marshalling 3-3

Equipment for Servicing

To further discuss, equipment used solely for ground servicing are generally those that provide input
and/or collect output from the aircraft. A detailed example and explanation of these are the following:
Tow Tractor and Towbars - Tow
tractors and towbars are used together
to tow the aircraft while on the ground.
These aid the aircraft to safely
maneuver on the ground during
pushback, repositioning, towing, and
debogging.

The towbar connects the nose landing

gear of the aircraft and the tow truck.
Some aircraft are equipped to be
connected with a towbar on the main
landing gear to be used for emergency
purposes. Some airlines and ground
handling companies use more
advanced towbarless tractors which
eliminate the use of a towbar by lifting
the nose landing gear off the ground.

Ground Power Unit - The GPU

is normally powered by a diesel
engine that produces electricity
through a generator. For this
electricity to be accepted by the
aircraft, a computer program is
installed in the GPU to produce
the correct electrical voltage.

Most modern GPU's have digital

displays and touch screen which
improve the ergonomic design of
the equipment.

Air Conditioning Unit - The ACU is powered

by a diesel engine to produce cold-conditioned
air through the help of a compressor,
condenser, and fluid refrigerant. This
equipment provides cold-conditioned air to the
whole aircraft while it is still on the ground. This
helps airlines slash fuel expenses as it
eliminates the need to operate the engine or
the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) to produce
conditioned air.
The ACU is equipped with an air hose that is
connected to the air conditioning pack of the
aircraft which is normally located near the belly
of the aircraft through a servicing point.

3-4 Aircraft Ground Handling and Marshalling / XVook 1

 Anti-Icing / De-Icing Truck - In countries with
icing conditions on the ground, the use of anti-
icing and de-icing truck is very important as it
removes and prevents the formation of ice on
the aircraft's wings and fuselage by spraying
industry-approved anti-icing and de-icing fluid.

The fluids used for this operation are sprayed

under constant pressure from a boom truck
basket hose that is often controlled manually. A
more advanced equipment uses a pressurized
nozzle which is remotely controlled by the
equipment operator.

Passenger Stair Truck - The passenger

stair truck is designed to provide timely and
efficient passenger embarkation and
disembarkation on bays not equipped with
an airbridge.

The truck is designed with large pneumatic

cylinders capable of lifting the staircase to the
door of the aircraft. The staircase is attached
to the back of a truck which makes the whole
equipment portable, mobile, and convenient
to use wherever the aircraft is parked on the
ramp.

Potable Water Truck - Used to replenish

the potable water tank of the aircraft with
water required in the lavatory’s washbasin
and toilet. On some aircraft, the galley is also
equipped with a potable water supply
through a faucet.

Potable water is pumped from the truck to

the aircraft by a diesel motor that
pressurizes the flow of water that passes
through a hose which is connected to the
designated potable servicing point of the
aircraft.

3-6 Aircraft Ground Handling and Marshalling / XVook 1

 Anti-Icing / De-Icing Truck - In countries with
icing conditions on the ground, the use of anti-
icing and de-icing truck is very important as it
removes and prevents the formation of ice on
the aircraft's wings and fuselage by spraying
industry-approved anti-icing and de-icing fluid.

The fluids used for this operation are sprayed

under constant pressure from a boom truck
basket hose that is often controlled manually. A
more advanced equipment uses a pressurized
nozzle which is remotely controlled by the
equipment operator.

Passenger Stair Truck - The passenger

stair truck is designed to provide timely and
efficient passenger embarkation and
disembarkation on bays not equipped with
an airbridge.

The truck is designed with large pneumatic

cylinders capable of lifting the staircase to the
door of the aircraft. The staircase is attached
to the back of a truck which makes the whole
equipment portable, mobile, and convenient
to use wherever the aircraft is parked on the
ramp.

Potable Water Truck - Used to replenish

the potable water tank of the aircraft with
water required in the lavatory’s washbasin
and toilet. On some aircraft, the galley is also
equipped with a potable water supply
through a faucet.

Potable water is pumped from the truck to

the aircraft by a diesel motor that
pressurizes the flow of water that passes
through a hose which is connected to the
designated potable servicing point of the
aircraft.

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 Refueling Truck - Perhaps the most easily
identifiable ground equipment is the
refueling truck. It is used to load fuel to the
aircraft either through its designated
servicing point with the assistance of the
aircraft’s refueling computer and valves or
through a manual refueling port on the
upper camber of the aircraft’s wings.

Uncommon to the knowledge of most people

is that refueling trucks are also designed to
receive fuel from the aircraft when
performing defueling which is normally done
in preparation for maintenance or when
required by the engineers or flight crew.

Air Start Unit - The ASU is powered by a

diesel engine that produces compressed air
with the help of a compressor. The
compressed air is delivered through an air
hose which is then connected to its
designated servicing point near the belly of
the aircraft.
This equipment is normally used on an aircraft
with disabled APU and the supply of
compressed air to the engine for starting is
not possible.

Catering Truck - Normally designed and built

to serve specific types of aircraft. The truck’s
specification adjusts to the aircraft’s door
height, galley cart size, and maximum payload.
The goal of the catering truck is to offload an
empty or used galley truck from a flight and
load a fresh supply of meals stored inside the
galley cart in preparation for the next flight.
Cargo Loading Equipment - When loading
the aircraft with cargo, the following must be
carefully considered: the type of aircraft, the
cargo to be loaded, and in some cases the
type of cargo compartment.
For bulk cargo loading, the use of conveyor
belt systems is a standard and would require
the presence of a cargo loader to manually
load the cargo from the baggage cart onto
the conveyor belt. Inside the cargo at the
other end of the conveyor belt is another
cargo loader who would manually put the
cargo in the cargo compartment of the
aircraft.

On some modern aircraft, the use of Unit

Load Device (ULD) allows the cargo to be
arranged in a large metal container that
resembles the shape of the aircraft's cargo
hold. This saves time in servicing the cargo
during flight preparation.

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 Lavatory Truck -
Comically called the “Love
Truck”, the lavatory truck is
used for draining solid and
liquid waste flushed down
the toilet. The draining of
waste is made possible by
a shut-off valve that when
opened permits the flow of
solid and liquid waste
through gravity flow.

Ground Equipment for Maintenance

There are ground equipment which aid aircraft maintenance personnel in carrying out work on locations
and access points where the human body is not able to reach under normal conditions. An example of
this is the lubrication of hinges in the rudder or the replacement of the APU.

The aircraft maintenance manual would normally suggest the use of ground equipment on maintenance
tasks that they have already identified as hazardous when done without assistance from any equipment.

Cherry Picker / Manlift - This equipment is

similar to the equipment used in other
industries which allows personnel safe access
to an elevated work space. Chocks - Wheel chocks are primarily used
to prevent the wheels of the aircraft from
To ensure safety while working on elevated
moving while the aircraft is parked. This
heights, the cherry picker is designed with a
equipment is vital in ensuring the safety of
bucket at the end of the lifting mechanism.
all the passengers and personnel as well as
The bucket is usually able to accommodate 2-
preventing damage on the aircraft as
3 persons safely. It is very important to
unchocked wheels can cause inadvertent
remember that the wearing of harnesses is
aircraft movement and can result in a
mandatory to protect the personnel in the
collision to other ground servicing
bucket against the risk of falling.
equipment.
For more complicated maintenance tasks
Smaller chocks are used to secure the
that require a bigger working space for more
wheels of ground support equipment to
maintenance personnel, a flatbed manlift is
ensure that they are stationary especially
the most appropriate equipment.
when within the circle of safety of the
aircraft.

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 Tripod - Tripod Jacks are used to lift the aircraft from the ground as required for various
maintenance tasks such as landing gear change, gear swing test, etc.

Tripods are placed on the jack point which is normally located at the nose and both wings of the
aircraft. A safety stay jack is often used at the tail of the aircraft as a precaution in preventing tipping
up of the aircraft during high winds, uneven aircraft jacking, or weight imbalance in the aircraft.

Service Stairs - Service stairs or most commonly called as maintenance stairs or platform are used
by the maintenance personnel to gain access to slightly elevated working areas on the aircraft where
the use of a cherry picker or manlift is not applicable.

Career
Tip #2
Choose from the different
career paths available
below:

1. Aircraft Mechanic
2. Aircraft Marshaller
3. Aircraft Refueller
4. Ground Service
Equipment Operator
5. Ground Service
Equipment Mechanic
6. Ramp Agent
7. Cabin Cleaner

Remember that this is

only a steppingstone to a
more fruitful career.

3-8 Aircraft Ground Handling and Marshalling / XVook 1