Compulsory marshaling?
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 419
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From: Barbados
Compulsory marshaling?
I have been living in Dominica since March, my main residence as some may know is Barbados.
Flew over for the weekend last Friday - nothing unusual until I asked for my parking ("...you usually put me on 6 right..." says I) they assigned me six right and "... follow the marshaler's instructions...) not weird as they usually are directing heavy jets - but get on to six right 50 foot to the stop when, sure enough there is someone waving at me - marshaling I think OK and so follow the crossing of the battens and shut down.
I have never ever been marshaled - not too impressed, over the Tee and two and a half foot into the fuel truck 'road' - then the guy, rather embarrassed tells me "$20 - my boss says so" - I have no Barbados dollars so tell him I will sort it out the next day.
Weird compulsory marshalling - I phone around - one person says yes, they bought in in last week - I had last been there twelve days earlier.
Spent the weekend trying to find the origin of it - the cost of $20 every time I move my airplane, is more each year than the cost of my base insurance (i.e. excluding the hull), more than my annual inspection, more than my non-citizen trust. My total marshalling time - on parking and departing - was no more than a minute and I was badly parked - if you like $1,200 an hour - marginal cost to the guy doing it was nil.
I was told my passenger could have got out of the airplane, with the engine running and vaguely waved at me for free - struck me as dangerous.
Seems that the most experienced pilot here turned his Six around in its length and went through a gap between a plane, the fuel truck and the marshaling pick-up that "...was not big enough to get the plane through" - clearly it was big enough as there was no collision. Seems the airport authority chose not to even speak with the pilot but bought in the marshaling as a collective punishment for all - it does not add to safety, there has never been a taxi collision in Barbados so far as I can work out.
I have flow in and out of international airports for my entire flying career and have never come across compulsory marshalling - some places I have now heard of that have it (parts of Miami International) but have heard of nowhere that charges for it - to be clear there is no handing just the few seconds at the end of parking, on start, call tower, they ok me, I wave at the marshaller, he waves at me with the twiddle, I start and he points left or right and off I go.
Goes anyone out there have experience of PAID compulsory marshalling?
Seems the claim
Flew over for the weekend last Friday - nothing unusual until I asked for my parking ("...you usually put me on 6 right..." says I) they assigned me six right and "... follow the marshaler's instructions...) not weird as they usually are directing heavy jets - but get on to six right 50 foot to the stop when, sure enough there is someone waving at me - marshaling I think OK and so follow the crossing of the battens and shut down.
I have never ever been marshaled - not too impressed, over the Tee and two and a half foot into the fuel truck 'road' - then the guy, rather embarrassed tells me "$20 - my boss says so" - I have no Barbados dollars so tell him I will sort it out the next day.
Weird compulsory marshalling - I phone around - one person says yes, they bought in in last week - I had last been there twelve days earlier.
Spent the weekend trying to find the origin of it - the cost of $20 every time I move my airplane, is more each year than the cost of my base insurance (i.e. excluding the hull), more than my annual inspection, more than my non-citizen trust. My total marshalling time - on parking and departing - was no more than a minute and I was badly parked - if you like $1,200 an hour - marginal cost to the guy doing it was nil.
I was told my passenger could have got out of the airplane, with the engine running and vaguely waved at me for free - struck me as dangerous.
Seems that the most experienced pilot here turned his Six around in its length and went through a gap between a plane, the fuel truck and the marshaling pick-up that "...was not big enough to get the plane through" - clearly it was big enough as there was no collision. Seems the airport authority chose not to even speak with the pilot but bought in the marshaling as a collective punishment for all - it does not add to safety, there has never been a taxi collision in Barbados so far as I can work out.
I have flow in and out of international airports for my entire flying career and have never come across compulsory marshalling - some places I have now heard of that have it (parts of Miami International) but have heard of nowhere that charges for it - to be clear there is no handing just the few seconds at the end of parking, on start, call tower, they ok me, I wave at the marshaller, he waves at me with the twiddle, I start and he points left or right and off I go.
Goes anyone out there have experience of PAID compulsory marshalling?
Seems the claim
Joined: Apr 1999
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 2,648
Likes: 307
From: In front of a computer
In my 47 years flying I have been marshalled in everything from a Cessna 150 to a Boeing 747. Never had the guy stick his hand out for cash afterwards....
PS I might mention that I have a low opinion of some of the people at Grantley Adams so your report does not surprise me.
PS I might mention that I have a low opinion of some of the people at Grantley Adams so your report does not surprise me.
Joined: Apr 2002
Aviation Qualifications: PPL
Posts: 1,264
Likes: 57
From: Surrey, UK ;
Ah they have some quaint ideas at Grantley Adams, like making me call ground for permission to taxi 6 feet from where the Tomahawk was parked to the runway stop line, where I called Adams Tower.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 419
Likes: 0
From: Barbados
Flew over to Barbados agsin this evening.
The compulsory marshalling still in place.
Though it seems this urgent safety measure is now not being implemented on the south ramp as they have not worked out how to do it - seems they have a flexible view of what compulsory means - my lawyer will be getting me my money back.
The compulsory marshalling still in place.
Though it seems this urgent safety measure is now not being implemented on the south ramp as they have not worked out how to do it - seems they have a flexible view of what compulsory means - my lawyer will be getting me my money back.
