Now, my point here is not to bash MAG, Shell or Ryanair. I'm not interested in apportioning blame for events on the day. The Shell tanker itself no doubt had to honour other commitments prior to refuelling EI-FEH. In the minutes before this Ryanair flight departed, there were four ad-hoc executive departures (1 x G5, 1 x GLEX, 1 x C56X, 1 x P180); no doubt some of these required the attentions of the lone tanker also. That means a queue.
But the real point is this. That Ryanair flight pushed back 79 minutes late purely because it used stand 57. A clear demonstration, if it was needed, that 56, 57 & 58 are wholly inadequate for servicing active passenger flights even of the no-frills variety. Investment in or replacement of these three stands (as part of a larger redevelopment programme) is urgently required.
Shed
Regarding your post about your RYR flight to EIN, you say that you had a re-fueling delay because your flight required the Shell tanker to come along as 57 has no hydrant re-fueling. However if you had been on a hydrant re-fueled stand, do you know that you would have been refueled on time? I have no knowledge of the actual situation, but it is possible that a staff shortage at Shell meant that there would have been delays for all their flights whether they required a bowser or a hydrant dispenser.
Does anyone know whether this was the case on the day in question? And have Shell only got one bowser?
If the Airport had a Collaborative Decision Making system in operation, some of these issues could have been highlighted at an earlier stage as Shell would have been able to predict their resource requirements a few hours ahead based on the real time air traffic schedule. In this case they may have been able to re-allocate resources to minimise or eliminate the delay.
I find that the most effective ones are 'Eau de Sweaty Footballer' from Laboratoire Gargoyle in Salford and 'Essence de Flatulent Boyband' by Maison Simone de Ceauelle.
Prefer the second myself; seems to work a treat on all forms of public transport
