Aircraft Turnaround Management

As mentioned, the turnaround management process is related to the period that an aircraft is on the ground – from the time it arrives at a terminal gate to the time it departs on its next scheduled flight. As an essential part of ground handling and airport operations, turnaround management services are carried out by airport personnel or airline agents, occasionally subcontracted out to dedicated ground handling teams.

Given these points, one of the most important goals of an airline is to maximize the utilization of their fleet, and it is possible by minimizing the aircraft turnaround time. So, shaving minutes off turnaround can equate to significant annual savings across the operation.

As the modern airport environment functions with increasingly integrated IT systems, critical turnaround management data must be accessible at all times. Efficiency can be increased significantly by introducing integrated systems that operate in real-time, offering airport ground handling personnel a transparent view of all flight operations.

Why are turnarounds a core airline business process?

Turnaround Management involves controlling the aircraft’s turnaround processes on the ground. Punctual turnarounds, therefore, have become a critical factor for success for airline operations, though actively controlling ground processes is still relatively uncharted territory for many airlines. The period of time between on-blocks and off-blocks therefore very often remains a “black box” for carriers of any business model – even there is great potential for improvement.

- Quick identification of delayed ground handling processes
- Minimization of operational disruptions by taking actions
- Enable pro-active and revenue-based decision making
- Early identification of bottlenecks and irregularities
- Increased stability of all handling processes
- Fewer delays and reduction of delay costs
- Increased reliability
- Better control over legislation

The turnaround management process starts before the aircraft landing. The staff prepare the parking stand for the airplane and make sure that there is no problem in the specified lot. After chocking the aircraft and connecting the auxiliary power unit (APU), the ground staff connects the bridge, and the passenger disembarking process starts. At the same time, the unloading process is going on. The aircraft designs are in a way that the boarding/disembarking and refueling doors are on the left-hand side, and other services (including baggage, cargo, and catering loading) are handled from the right-hand side. This design helps to avoid any interferences in operations and reduces the turnaround time.
During the turnaround time, the staff should do other works too. An operator is responsible for emptying the waste tank of the toilets. There is a team for cabin servicing, and they should make the airplane suitable for having new passengers. Catering operators should prepare the food and beverage for the next flight. Another team is responsible for the aircraft refueling. In addition, a container is responsible for providing water for the aircraft. New passengers have baggage and cargo. The loading process is not so easy because the way that operators load the aircraft affects its balance. About an hour before the flight, the crew arrives on the airplane, and when they confirm that everything is alright, the captain permits passenger boarding.