Aircraft parking at UK airports

[Mooncrest]

Good morning,

I'd be interested to know how this aspect of airport ops is handled at different British airports.

At Leeds Bradford, all airliner parking at the terminal stands is nose-in, except for stand 1. Marshaller guidance is provided to park each aircraft on the correct stop line. Stands 7 and 8 are equipped with APIS in conjunction with the airbridges on these stands. Marshalling is performed by the two handling agents, Servisair and Jet2 and and occasionally by airport ops (ASU). Most of the stands have a numbered marker board at the head of the stand, all of which are unlit, some of which are leaning to the point of falling over !

How does this compare to other British airports, in particular the comparable regionals such as East Midlands and Newcastle ?

Thankyou. :ok:

[750XL]

At MAN, all marshalling is done by Airfield Operations.

We used to have a mixture of AGNIS PAPA, AGNIS Mirror, AGNIS Stop Light and marshalling. However, I believe due to a new EU rule which stated only two types of Visual Docking Guiding Systems were allowed at any one airport so the Stop Light system has been decommissioned.

I'm not sure about T3 but all of T2 and all remote stands are marshalled in, along with some T1 stands (they've started to marshal some aircraft in even when AGNIS PAPA/Mirror are available. I believe this is to reduce the number of 'over runs', particularly on stand 25/28/24 where only nose loader airrbridges are available).

As with everything at MAN, a lot of the signs and ground markings are outdated. The mirror system seems to be particularly troublesome especially during bad weather, when the captain either cant see the ground markings due to water or the screen has frozen / misted up.

So in short, I'm sure it's not just an LBA problem. I think it's mostly a case of 'if its not broke, don't fix it!'

[Mooncrest]

Thankyou 750. I admit I'm surprised that marshalling takes place on so many stands, having expected some sort of automatic guidance, but it's good to see that this service is provided by Airport Operations. I've had the opinion for years that marshalling is an airport authority responsibility and not something to be farmed out to handling agents, bowser drivers and so on. I expect it keeps the Ops Bods busy but I would have honestly expected more at an international airport. As you say, if it ain't broke...

As I recall at Edinburgh a few years ago, every stand I saw was equipped with AGNIS and it made me think that LBA was still in the dark ages. Even the standard issue marshalling bats these days are little more than lengths of polythene pipe covered in yellow insulating tape !

One or two pilots have said that when they're parking nose-in, all they need is someone or something telling them when to stop, whether that be a marshaller or a painted line on the apron. But our instructions state that we also have to provide "turn-in" assistance at night and in poor visibility. I suppose if the marker board were illuminated this wouldn't be necessary. And in any case, many pilots start their turn on to the stand before we give the appropriate direction.

[750XL]

I was surprised to hear that handling agents provide the marshalling at LBA. At Manchester if the handling agents did it, there would be aircraft queueing up on the taxiway all the time waiting to enter the stand. Especially on nights etc where there may only be one dispatcher on shift, with 2 -3 charter flights dropping down together, all requiring air bridges attaching etc...

[dany4kin]

At LGW most stands guidance is with the SmartDock system, with visual AGNIS for some of the remote stands.

Airfield Operations staff provide any marshaling that may be required.

[Mooncrest]

It appears there's a mix of automated and manual systems in place in the UK. Ultimately the goal is the same whatever system is used but these days I'd have expected marshalling for simple nose-in parking to be a rarity. Speaking of which, can anyone PM me with a make or supplier of good quality dayglo marshalling bats ? Preferably something that isn't made of MDF with a bright blue handle which falls to pieces within weeks. With the orange covering falling off !

Thanks all.

[irishlooney]

At EMA (EGNX), all stands are marshalled by the handling agent, no self parking and you have to have a handling agent to land. If your handling agent is Servisair (inc UPS) then EMA Airfield Operations will marshal you onto stand. Other companies with trained marshals are DHL, Menzies Aviation, Signature Flight Support and TNT.

Only difference is if the marshalling is non standard (not on normal stand markings), normally in these circumstances EMA Airfield Ops will marshal irrespective of handling agent.

Cheers
Will