May I ask how this 'dynamic policy' conjures up a bunch of loaders, security, catering, refuellers, cleaners, engineers etc at short notice?
Erm ... The same way it works at almost every other major airport? BHX (citing one example) regularly accepts diversion traffic on an opportunity basis. Do they use a magic wand to enable this?
Even if, and it's a big if, there are any stands available.
There are many hours each day when MAN has plenty of vacant stand availability. It is at these times that ad-hoc supplementary traffic could be accepted on a discretionary basis, eg. for a 'splash and dash'. And there are plenty of occasions when space could be found for an executive jet. They don't require main apron stands. When the airport is genuinely full to capacity, a dynamic policy does allow for diversion requests to be refused.
Do you think there are lots of standby staff sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring at any hour?
I think that operators such as self-handling Jet2 know that they have sufficient of their own staff available to handle the B738 which they're asking to divert in. Why refuse this based on a crystal ball reading two weeks ahead of the event? And I think that there are times of day when other agencies have rostered staff on site who are not otherwise committed 100% of the time. As for people at the end of the phone, it is just possible that afew (not all) might appreciate the offer of overtime. Maybe try it? Folks have Christmas expenses to pay off, and heating bills are going up.
I have personally witnessed several wide bodies sitting on the taxiway recently waiting for a contact stand to be cleared
Yep. Me too. This is a particular issue when long-haul flights land upto an hour ahead of schedule before the first wave has departed. And, as you know, a number of the long-haul operators require a specific stand for company operational reasons - they can't take just any one which happens to be free. But this is not an H24 phenomenon. And even when an A330 has to wait, that doesn't mean that there is no space for an unrelated B738 elsewhere on the apron. Each aircraft has different requirements. Then, of course, following the departure of the first wave, there are a number of hours when MAN does have ample stand availability. Its a dynamic situation, which is why a dynamic diversion policy makes sense as a solution.
a keyboard wannabe airport manager who thinks they have all the answers because they use the airport twice a week.
Deary me. Once the personal insults start flying, I tend to think I must be cutting through in a debate. But you assume too much. I have around 25 years of shiftworking experience at MAN on my CV. In case you're wondering, I'm the good looking one!
Yes, looks like Oz let both of us out!