Check the basic arrival procedures of the A320 from performing FOD walk, meeting the aircraft at the
arrival
parking spot to apron area inspection, proper communications with the flight crew, and aircraft servicing on
block.
Knowing When the Aircraft
Will Arrive
May it be a revenue flight or an aircraft ferry
flight, there are multiple ways on how the
ground servicing personnel can determine
when the aircraft they are scheduled to service
will arrive. Having this information in advance
allows all the personnel to mentally and
physically prepare for the responsibilities they
are expected to carry out when the aircraft
arrives.
Different companies use various means in
anticipating aircraft arrival to be able to amply
prepare for the required tasks. Below are the
most common tools of choice in the industry:
Book 1 / Aircraft Ground Handling and Marshalling
Flight Schedule - The flight schedule is
perhaps the most easily available data about
the scheduled departure and arrival of an
aircraft. Not only this, but this data is also
capable of showing the flight number the
flight is assigned with, the name of the flight
crew, and its parking bay assignment.
While the creation of an airline’s flight
schedule includes many different factors such
as competition, slot availability, aircraft fleet,
and many more, the ground servicing
personnel is only concerned with the most
updated flight schedule wherein the details of
the actual departure time and estimated
arrival time is available.
This information is shared by the airline Hub
Control Center with all ground handling
personnel responsible for monitoring the
ground operations of the aircraft. It is
important to note that different airlines
implement different designations for this
position, but the important thing is that they
have the same responsibility to coordinate the
flight plan and arrival details to all ground
handling personnel.
6-1
 Radio - It is possible to listen to the Flight Radar - With the use of a flight radar, it
communication between the ATC and the is possible to monitor the movement of the
Flight Crew using a radio device that can scan aircraft on all phases of flight starting from
and tune in to the assigned frequency for Air pushback, taxiing, take-off, cruise, landing, and
Traffic, Ground, or Ramp Control the subsequent arrival on the parking bay.
communications. On larger airports, they are
assigned with different radio frequencies, on
smaller airports or airfields, a single
radiofrequency can be used for While the majority of the
communication. public believe that this is
only possible through
the use of a radar
Keep in mind that in the majority of other
antenna that is then
countries, it is against the law to tap into the
displayed in the
airport's radio frequency or even use a
Control Tower of
handheld radio without the required
each airport, the use
permission from relevant government
of ADS-B (Automatic
authorities. In the case of an airline, they are
Dependent Surveillance-
usually only permitted to use such handheld
Broadcast) Transponder
radios for surveillance purposes and not to
of the majority of civilian
transmit messages.
aircraft allows the
reporting of its position
If you like to know more about how to talk
to a ground-based ADS-
properly on a handheld radio, click here:
B Receiver. The data
received by the Receiver
is then uploaded on
servers that support the
display in the web of the
aircraft’s live position. A
great and perhaps the
most popular example of
this tool is the website
Flightradar24.

6-2 Aircraft Ground Handling and Marshalling / Book 1

ACARS - means Aircraft Communications
Addressing and Reporting System. It sends
automatic transmission between the plane's
FMS (Flight Management System) and a
satellite or ground radio station. ACARS
spontaneously discloses the aircraft's position
electronically.
The interface also allows the flight crew to
request airport clearance, submit flight plans,
and inquire about the prevailing weather
without the use of verbal radio transmission
which reserves the use of the radio frequency
for more important verbal messages.

Visual Monitoring - With all of the

aforementioned tools that can be possibly
available for an airline’s disposal, the visual
monitoring of the ramp is considered the most
basic tool and skill a ground servicing
personnel should learn.

This is considered important as we

acknowledge the fact that the technology can
fail however the application of skills in
monitoring and identifying your assigned
aircraft from afar can save the on-time
performance and safety of the operations.
Identifying an aircraft from afar requires a
piece of prior knowledge on the structural
design of the aircraft (engine location, type of You could click the image to observe
engine, size of fuselage, stabilizer design, etc.), similar aircraft arrival at a particular
the livery design, and registration marks. aircraft parking bay.

Book 1 / Aircraft Ground Handling and Marshalling 6-3

Arrival Bay Preparation

To ensure that the arrival of the aircraft will be safe

from ground accidents regardless if it is located in a
remote parking stand or an apron, the proper
preparation through inspection and compliance of
ramp regulations is strictly enforced.

In general, the following rules and regulations are

enforced to comply with the acceptable preparation
procedure of the arrival bay:

FOD Walk - Foreign Object Debris are any

loose objects scattered on the ramp (both
natural and man-made) that have the
possibility of damaging the aircraft. It should
not have been on the ramp in the first place.
Once a piece of debris has caused damage to
the aircraft, the abbreviation changes to
Foreign Object Damage, which refers to
damage to the aircraft. For the reasons stated above, adherence
to a FOD walk-through by one or more
ramp employees allows for visual
inspection and subsequent proper
disposal of trash found in the bay. It is
important to remember that this
procedure is performed every time an
aircraft is scheduled to arrive at a particular
bay, regardless of the frequency of arrival.
In general, it is ideal to conduct a FOD walk-
through at least 15-20 minutes prior to the
aircraft's estimated time of arrival to allow
sufficient time for proper inspection and
FOD disposal.
FOREIGN OBJECT DAMAGE. Stratmatters. 9YMax,
Nov. 20, 2018,
https://stratmatters.wordpress.com/author/9ymax/

A common example of Foreign Object Debris

is stone, coin, fruit, personal baggage, wild
animal, pets, and discarded aircraft parts
such as safety wires. While the sizes of this
debris are considered small, the damage it
can cause to the aircraft can be costly.

Alan Radecki, CC BY-SA 3.0

<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>,
via Wikimedia Commons

The above picture is one example of

FOREIGN OBJECT DAMAGE. Stratmatters. 9YMax,
Nov. 20, 2018,
Foreign Object Damage incurred to the
https://stratmatters.wordpress.com/author/9ymax/ compressor blades of a turbo ject engine.

6-4 Aircraft Ground Handling and Marshalling / Book 1

 Availability of Fire Extinguishers - Fire
extinguishers serve as the first line of defense in the
event of a fire. Aircraft fires can be caused by the
engine, overheated brakes, or ramp accidents such as
collisions between vehicles or aircraft.

To sufficiently control or extinguish a fire, the size of

each fire extinguisher bottle located on each bay is
packaged in a 20kg bottle or more. This provides the
ramp personnel enough suppressing agents until the
airport fire services department arrives at the scene
of the fire and professionally takes over the situation.

Aside from the main fire extinguisher, each ground

servicing equipment is mandated to be equipped
with its own fire extinguisher should the fire originate
within their vehicle.

"Each ground servicing equipment is mandated to be equipped with its own

fire extinguisher should the fire originate within their vehicle."

Apron Area Inspection - To provide clear apron

access for the arriving aircraft, the inspection of its
surrounding structures and parked equipment
should be performed. This ensures that facility-to-
aircraft, equipment-to-aircraft, and aircraft-to-
aircraft collision will be avoided.

To successfully facilitate the apron inspection, the

ramp personnel must be able to determine any
vehicle, equipment, facility, and aircraft not in its
designated area.

For example, no Ground Service Equipment should

be parked inside the apron area, this is to avoid an
equipment-to-aircraft collision. The position of the
jet bridge must also be inspected to make sure that
it is fully retracted and does not obtrude past the
red hatch line. Lastly, to avoid a potential accident, it
is important to inspect the aircraft parked in the
adjacent bays to make sure that they are parked in
their respective centerlines, this is to ensure that
the wingtip clearance is enough to avoid wingtip
collision.

Book 1 / Aircraft Ground Handling and Marshalling 6-5

 Necessary Tools and PPE - As discussed in
the previous chapters, the use of tools and PPE
allows us to efficiently and safely perform our
tasks.

To avoid delays or accidents, ramp

personnel must make sure they
have the necessary functional
tools such as marshaling wands,
communications headset, radio
and raised stand when preparing.
They must also ensure they are
wearing the appropriate PPE for
their respective aircraft
maintenance tasks.

To check the features of a heavy-

duty marshal wand. Click the
picture.

Correct Stopbar - The stopbar is a ramp

marking that is located perpendicular to the
taxi line. It is labeled to indicate where a
specific type of aircraft should exactly stop its
nose wheel. The stopbar is used to correctly
align the aircraft with the jetbridge.

The ramp personnel must carefully inspect

that the aircraft type of the arriving aircraft has
its indicated stopbar in the intended bay.

To explore more on the stopbar other aircraft

markings, click the picture.

6-6 Aircraft Ground Handling and Marshalling / Book 1

Communication with the Flight Crew

Establishing a line of communication between

the flight and ground crew is very important to
properly coordinate the marshaling of the
aircraft towards the correct stopbar and to
communicate all ground servicing procedures
that the PIC (Pilot In Command) should be aware
of.

There are two types of communication between

the flight and ground crew which are (1) verbal
communication and (2) non-verbal
communication which covers the marshaling
signals.

Verbal communication between the flight and

ground crew is established as soon as the
aircraft has been properly parked and
chocked on its appropriate stopbar and the
communications headset has been
connected to the aircraft’s communication
system through the interphone connection.

Establishing verbal communication is the most

efficient and convenient form of
communication towards the flight crew
however there are certain situations such as
communication system defect or the
unavailability of communication headset that
will require the use of non-verbal
communication, specifically the marshaling
signals.

Verbal communication in the aviation industry

uses the English language to allow standard and
effective communication regardless of
nationality. To avoid any form of
miscommunication, the ICAO has issued the
ICAO Doc 9432 - Manual of Radiotelephony stating
the standard phraseology to be used when
communicating within the industry especially in
the operations. This prevents ambiguous
transmission of messages which can result in
accidents caused by miscommunication.

Book 1 / Aircraft Ground Handling and Marshalling 6-7

Ground Personnel Communication

With the lead and coordination of the Ramp Agent, all ground servicing personnel are expected to
accomplish their servicing tasks as efficiently and as safely to ensure the on-time departure of the
aircraft. For this to be possible, the combination of communication and teamwork is crucial to avoid any
unnecessary delay.

Most of the communication between the various

ground crew personnel is done by talking at an
elevated volume due to the noise emanating from the
ground service equipment and the aircraft. The use of
a handheld radio also allows communication with all
personnel tuned to the company's assigned
frequency.

At the same time, the use of marshaling signal is also

in use between ground servicing personnel, especially
when guiding ground servicing equipment that comes
near the aircraft such as the conveyor belt for cargo,
lavatory truck, and potable water truck.

Notice the link on how they use verbal cues to ensure

safety.

Aircraft Servicing On Block

To maintain the airworthiness of the aircraft and 1. Provision of Utilities

prepare it for the next flight, all employees and
concerned Ground Service Equipment, which we
discussed in the previous chapter, assume their
role in performing ground maintenance on the
aircraft.
As time is of the essence at this stage of the
process, we may observe that the care of each
step is carried out simultaneously. This sequence
best reflects how the soil care activities unfold:
1.1 Connection of GPU
1.2 Connection of ACU
Since it is more economical to use a GPU and
ACU to supply electricity and air condition for
the aircraft, as soon as the aircraft has been
chocked, the flight crew would prepare to shut
down the aircraft’s engine to lower down the
cost of fuel consumption of the aircraft’s
operation. This procedure often comes first
before the passengers are allowed to stand-up
for disembarkation as it is still important to
monitor the operation of the different aircraft
systems for the safety of the passengers and
the aircraft.

"Use of marshaling signal is also

in use when guiding ground
servicing equipment..."

6-8 Aircraft Ground Handling and Marshalling / Book 1

It also allows a sustained quality of passenger
service especially in hot weather wherein the
supply of conditioned air is much required and
the supply of electricity for lighting when at night.

2. Passenger and Cargo Service

2.1 Disembarkation and Embarkation of
Passengers
2.2 Unloading and Loading of Cargo

Simultaneously and not visible to most

passengers, the ground servicing personnel are
starting to move into their position to connect
the jet bridge or guide a passenger stair truck
into its correct position. The passenger access
point is normally done on the L1 (Front - Left Side
Door) of most commercial aircraft as the right
side of the aircraft is reserved for most of the
ground equipment such as the cargo loading
equipment.
Oftentimes, the passengers would feel a low
thump sound which is the cargo doors being
opened from the ground. By the time that the
passengers have started to exit the aircraft door,
the cargo loaders have also started unloading the
cargo from the ground.
3. Replenishment
3.1 Refueling
3.2 Replenishment of Potable Water
3.3 Draining of Lavatory Waste
3.4 Replenishment of Galley
The replenishment of the galley cart is also
performed. The passenger capacity of the
aircraft on-hand affects the number of catering
trucks needed to perform this servicing. On a
smaller aircraft such as an Airbus A320, the use
of a single catering truck to accomplish the
galley servicing would be sufficient however on a
larger aircraft such as an Airbus A380, the use of
two or more catering trucks would be required
to finish the galley servicing in time.
At the tail of the aircraft, the potable water
replenishment and lavatory draining are
performed by two different personnel
consecutively to avoid bacterial contamination
of the potable water.
4. Airworthiness / Maintenance Inspection
While all of the other aircraft servicing is being
performed, the aircraft engineer is performing
airworthiness inspection ensuring that the
aircraft is free from any damage and any system
defect is addressed in accordance with the
aircraft’s manual. The engineer will be in direct
communication with the flight crew and cabin
crew for any defect or concern on the
airworthiness of the aircraft.

While the passengers are disembarking and the

cargo is being offloaded, the replenishment of
the aircraft consumables is immediately being
performed. This includes the refueling of the
aircraft that is normally done on the right side of
the aircraft to observe safety procedures in case
of fire while the passengers are disembarking on
the left side of the aircraft.

Book 1 / Aircraft Ground Handling and Marshalling 6-9

5. Preparation for Departure
5.1 Connection of Towbar and Tow Tractor
5.2 Anti-icing and De-icing

Just as the whole sequence of ground servicing is

about to be finished, the towbar and the tow
tractor will be connected to the nose landing
gear of the aircraft in preparation for pushback.
The ground engineer or the ramp agent will be in
communication with the flight crew through the
headset communication once they have received
pushback clearance from the airport’s ground
control.

In low-temperature countries, the anti-icing

and/or de-icing is performed before pushback
to ensure the aircraft is protected from icing
formation from pushback until take-off.

6-10 Aircraft Ground Handling and Marshalling / Book 1