Originally Posted by
OzzyOzBorn
It is at these times that ad-hoc supplementary traffic could be accepted on a discretionary basis, eg. for a 'splash and dash'. !
So many points to come back on, but just to pick out the splash and dash one. It’s been a few years since I worked at MAN operationally, but at the time (and I doubt it’s changed in any meaningful way) diversions were always at the bottom of the pecking order for resources, with planned pax flights at the top. Thus a captain in the hold choosing MAN (for example) might think he’s on a splash and dash, but the reality is that after touchdown he may need to hold for a remote stand, then wait for a fueller to be free, then maybe wait for toilet servicing (may have just come non stop from the Far East), a bit of extra catering perhaps, and then at last a tug for pushback. Drag some of that out, and the crew may go out of hours, and before long a 45 minute refuel has turned into a 3 hour or more stay. Thus it is simplistic to suggest that an hour’s availability on a remote stand would allow a few diversions, as any ramp planner worth their while would be mad to assume a splash and dash would have a good chance of a quick turn round.
Sure things may go according to plan, but as soon as they don’t (and the very act of diversion is a change from the original plan) then the ripple effect can end up costing a lot of money to the handlers in particular. The tightness of handlers’ margins is such that the risk of incurring penalties for not meeting the requirements of their regular customers will often outweigh the benefits of a few pounds for handling a diversion. And in the current climate with staff absences due to COVID, let alone the previous wafer thin staffing levels, that risk can only be higher.