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Issue link: https://groundsupportworldwide.epubxp.com/i/814698
APRIL 2017 AviationPros.com 23 INTERNATIONAL According to Jon Conway, director general of the Airport Services Association (ASA), it is not really just about ground handling infrastructure. "If one takes a holistic view, it is about overall airport infrastructure – terminals, concourses, baggage handling systems etc. – in addition to air traffic management, ultimately runway capacity, and then the surrounding infra- structure (road/rail links, etc.) to support the traffic increases still very much on the horizon in the Middle East," he says. "We ground handlers are simple folks. We like well-designed facilities, space to work and park our ground support equipment (GSE), efficient mechanical handling systems, sen- sible airside regulations enabling safe and efficient ground operations. I still think the industry misses a trick in not fully engaging with our sector when it comes to airport and airfield design and development. The handlers (the ultimate end user for many airport facilities) are often presented with sub optimal designs requiring either work arounds or (expen- sive) remedial work. This has always surprised me and I hope our recent efforts with Airports Council International (ACI) will help improve the level of engagement, especially at the planning stage. There is an enormous amount of experience out there just waiting to be used." There are several additional operational challenges for the aircraft ground handling companies in the Middle East in the context of an expanding industry. According to Shishani, these include security and immigration bottlenecks, a lack of proper airport-user service level agreements (SLA) with established key performance indicators (KPI) and minimum service levels for providers to start with – including ground handlers. In addition, he points out, airport operations are not being handled with a 'supply-chain' approach in mind that ensures all links in the chain enjoy proper communication, coordination and alignment on one ultimate customer. "Cargo handling is not receiving a similar level of attention com- pared to the passenger side and, triggered by the drop in oil prices, the region is experiencing an unprecedented increase in user charge increases that is not being done according to ICAO main charging principles or industry best practices (i.e. transparency, user con- sultation, cost-relatedness and non-discrimination) and does not necessarily add value or improve services," says Shishani. "More broadly, in the Middle East and elsewhere, the reduction of injuries and ground damage on the airside is of prime concern. To this end, we are working with ground service providers and GSE manufacturers to help develop GSE specifications that call for active measures to improve operational performance such as non-contact sensors, proximity based speed limitations, etc. Paired with this is strong dialogue with aircraft manufacturers to make it possible to actively guide GSE to its interface points at the aircraft fuselage," says Joseph Suidan, IATA's head of ground operations. "Typically, in a constrained environment, the handler is working with systems and infrastructure which is often operating at or beyond design capacity. There is inherently higher risk when working at an airport which is operating above design capacity," says Con- way. "Operational challenges would include – especially at peak times – maintaining quality of baggage handling, making increasingly aggressive MCT's (baggage) and moving around the airfield where air- port operators, understandably, want every piece of available real estate to park or taxi an