Airport Operations and Ground Handling Management Training Course

Participants can identify the standards and documents governing airport and handling activities.

• ICAO Annex 14 requirements affecting aerodrome operations and serviceability
• IATA AHM structure, handling procedures and standard ground service agreements
• IGOM controls for ramp operations, equipment and aircraft servicing
• Airport operations manual sections governing airside and terminal procedures
• Safety management system documentation, occurrence reporting and corrective actions
• Local instructions reconciled with airline, handler and airport requirements

Participants can plan and control a safe, punctual aircraft turnaround.

• Turnaround milestones from on-blocks through off-blocks and pushback clearance
• Critical path analysis for cleaning, catering, fuelling and boarding activities
• Milestone control board showing planned, actual and forecast completion times
• Turnaround coordinator responsibilities during routine and delayed flight operations
• Dependencies between passenger disembarkation, baggage unloading and cabin servicing
• Escalation triggers for late equipment, crew, catering and technical defects

Participants can apply ramp safety controls to aircraft servicing and vehicle movements.

• Apron zoning, stand markings and equipment staging discipline
• Foreign object debris prevention, detection, collection and reporting routines
• Aircraft approach and departure safety zones during ground servicing
• Vehicle speed controls, right-of-way rules and airside driving permits
• Bow-tie analysis for aircraft damage, injury and fuel spill hazards
• Ramp safety briefings, stop-work authority and supervisory interventions

Participants can plan ground support equipment availability, allocation and serviceability controls.

• Ground support equipment categories matched to aircraft servicing tasks
• Equipment allocation plan based on flight schedule and stand demand
• Pre-use inspections, defect reporting and equipment release procedures
• Contingency arrangements for unavailable tugs, loaders and passenger steps
• Charging, fuelling and parking controls for ground support fleets
• Resource readiness dashboard covering people, equipment and stand availability

Participants can manage baggage flow, reconciliation and disruption controls.

• Baggage process map from check-in acceptance to aircraft loading
• IATA Resolution 753 baggage tracking milestones and reconciliation controls
• Make-up area allocation, baggage build-up and load sequencing
• Transfer baggage connection planning using minimum connection time rules
• Mishandled baggage tracing, delivery coordination and passenger communication
• Root-cause analysis for short-loaded, damaged and misrouted baggage

Participants can assess passenger processing capacity and implement flow controls.

• Passenger journey mapping through check-in, security, immigration and boarding
• Queue measurement using arrival rates, service rates and waiting times
• Level of service indicators for check-in, security and gate areas
• Terminal capacity constraints caused by peak schedules and gate changes
• Wayfinding, communications and accessibility during disrupted passenger flows
• Crowd management controls for queues, boarding surges and arrivals peaks

Participants can coordinate operational interfaces between load control and ramp teams.

• Load control responsibilities, load instructions and final load confirmation
• Weight and balance principles affecting aircraft trim and loading limits
• Load sheet data checked against baggage, cargo and passenger figures
• Special load notifications communicated between load control and ramp teams
• Last-minute changes managed through documented loading and communication procedures
• Departure reconciliation between dispatch, gate, ramp and flight crew

Participants can apply operational controls for cargo, mail and dangerous goods interfaces.

• Cargo acceptance interfaces between warehouse, handler and airline operations
• IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations documentation, marking and segregation requirements
• NOTOC preparation and communication of dangerous goods loading information
• ULD serviceability checks, build-up planning and restraint requirements
• Temperature-sensitive shipments managed through time, storage and handover controls
• Cargo irregularities escalated using evidence, notifications and corrective actions

Participants can allocate gates and stands while managing operational constraints.

• Gate allocation criteria including aircraft type, passenger flows and connections
• Stand planning constraints from wingspan, towing, security and servicing needs
• Remote stand operations, bussing requirements and boarding time calculations
• Gate change decision process using passenger, baggage and turnaround impacts
• Coordination with air traffic services for stand availability and towing
• Common-use gate systems and operational status information requirements

Participants can analyse capacity limits and recommend practical demand management actions.

• Declared capacity concepts for runway, apron, terminal and baggage systems
• Flight schedule analysis identifying peak demand and resource conflicts
• Demand-capacity comparison using hourly profiles and utilisation rates
• Slot coordination principles and airport operational planning interfaces
• Buffer planning for late arrivals, weather exposure and gate recovery
• Capacity constraint register with owners, mitigations and review dates

Participants can use collaborative decision methods to improve shared operational predictability.

• Airport CDM principles for shared situational awareness and decision quality
• Milestone approach linking inbound status, turnaround and departure readiness
• Target off-block time updates based on operational readiness information
• Common operational picture built from agreed data sources and timestamps
• Collaborative prioritisation during constrained stands, gates and departure flows
• Information quality checks for timeliness, accuracy and operational relevance

Participants can create performance measures and review routines for airport operations.

• Operational KPI hierarchy linking safety, punctuality, service and cost
• On-time performance measures using arrival, departure and turnaround timestamps
• Baggage performance indicators covering delivery, transfers and mishandling rates
• Ramp performance scorecards for equipment readiness and service completion
• Control charts distinguishing normal variation from special-cause operational failures
• Daily operations review agenda with actions, owners and due dates

Participants can monitor contracted ground handlers against service and safety requirements.

• Ground handling agreement scope, responsibilities and service specification clauses
• Service-level indicators converted into reporting, review and remedy arrangements
• Supplier performance meetings structured around evidence, trends and actions
• Audit plans covering documentation, ramp observations and staff competence
• Non-conformance management from finding registration through corrective action closure
• Commercial penalties balanced with safety reporting and improvement obligations

Participants can investigate operational occurrences and assign effective corrective actions.

• Safety management system components: policy, risk management, assurance, promotion
• Occurrence reporting thresholds for ramp damage, injuries and unsafe conditions
• Five Whys technique used to identify contributing operational conditions
• Fishbone diagram categories for people, process, equipment and environment
• Corrective action plans specifying controls, owners, evidence and deadlines
• Safety performance indicators reviewed through trends and recurring event patterns

Participants can coordinate airport operational response and recovery during major incidents.

• Airport emergency plan roles, activation levels and command arrangements
• Emergency operations centre information management and decision logging
• Aircraft incident response interfaces with rescue, fire and medical services
• Business continuity priorities for terminal closure, systems failure and access loss
• Communication plans for passengers, airlines, staff and external agencies
• Recovery criteria for reopening stands, terminals and affected operating areas

Participants can prioritise actions and restore service during irregular operations.

• IROPS classification for weather, technical, crew, security and capacity events
• Disruption response matrix assigning priorities, decisions and communication channels
• Flight recovery sequencing based on passenger impact and resource feasibility
• Diversion handling plan covering stands, buses, baggage and passenger care
• Cancellation response coordinating rebooking, baggage return and terminal communications
• Post-disruption review capturing decisions, delays, costs and improvement actions

Participants can integrate security controls into routine airport operations and disruption plans.

• Restricted area access controls, identification checks and escort procedures
• Security incident reporting routes and preservation of operational evidence
• Landside-airside boundary controls for vehicles, staff and service providers
• Insider threat awareness within contractor management and supervisory routines
• Cyber disruption impacts on departure control, baggage and gate systems
• Manual fallback procedures for communications, passenger processing and flight documentation

Participants can establish disciplined communications and handovers across operational shifts.

• Shift handover checklist covering flights, risks, resources and outstanding actions
• Situation report format separating facts, impacts, decisions and requests
• Closed-loop communication technique for safety-critical operational instructions
• Escalation matrix defining authority levels, response times and notification paths
• Operational briefings aligned with daily schedule risks and weather forecasts
• Decision logs recording rationale, approvals, timestamps and follow-up actions

Participants can build, review and present a complete Airport Operations and Ground Handling Management Plan for a defined airport operating scenario.

• Operating scenario definition covering traffic profile, facilities and stakeholder responsibilities
• Process maps connecting terminal, baggage, ramp and turnaround control points
• Turnaround plan with milestones, resources, dependencies and escalation triggers
• Risk register using bow-tie controls, owners and assurance evidence
• Performance dashboard specifying KPIs, data sources and review cadence
• IROPS response plan covering decisions, communications, recovery and review
• Peer review against IATA AHM, IGOM and local operating requirements
• Management presentation explaining priorities, trade-offs, controls and implementation actions