Overkill?
 

Is this not an overkill? I do recall in the military that there could be no refuelling whilst lightning was observed visually in the near vicinity (or with a TS parked overhead) but downing tools completely??

Thoughts? What happens elsewhere?

Lightning strands flights at airport

Thousands of passengers were stuck in planes at Sydney Airport last night because ground staff do not work on the tarmac when there is lightning.

The airport said about a dozen domestic and international flights were caught in the delay, but Qantas said almost 40 of its planes were affected.

It is understood that some passengers were forced to stay in the planes for more than an hour. There were also big queues of frustrated passengers at check-in counters.

A spokeswoman for the airport, Shannon Kliendienst, said that airlines had a policy that no ground staff would work outside when lightning threatened.

A weather warning was issued at 6pm yesterday and lifted at 7.30pm after a series of electrical storms swept through the city.

"There's not much you can do about the weather," Ms Kliendienst said. "When there's bad weather, people are quite used to the fact that they can't do anything about it."

One passenger whose plane was stranded on the tarmac for more than hour said that the captain had announced that there were lightning strikes within a five-kilometre radius of the airport. This meant that no staff would handle ground equipment for flights either landing or taking off.

Qantas said that 33 domestic flights could not park or take off, while six of its international flights were stranded.

Yes I have heard of this in quite a few other airports. When intense Lightning strikes are forecast and are within a certain distance from the airfield. Re-fuelling will be suspended and ground services staff will not be asked to work in the open or around aircraft where there is a risk of secondary injury from associated lightning strikes. Also no headset.pushback operations will commence or be undertaken as there is a risk of grounding through the pushback tug or worse case through the headset guys ears...!!!

A number of airports I have operated in, Middle and Far east have this policy, as does a number of UK airports. I have noticed in the UK that some ground staff just carry on but some will run for cover at the first rumble. Any excuse to get in out of the rain.

Haven't looked at the theory of this since undergrad days so I wouldn't try to relate the detail without digging out a physics text and you good folk can do that as the maths is not too heavy.

Basic problem is that a person standing in a open area becomes potentially attractive to lightning. Similarly, if standing adjacent to structures there is the risk associated with injury from strikes on the structures.

The airport policy sounds very sensible to me....

A while back, while on turn-round in Stuttgart, all movement was stopped due big CB's, noise and light show. I asked if it was normal practice to down tools and watch the show. The ground agent told me it had become a requirement after two ramp staff where hit by lightning in the space of a month.

Inconvenient - yes, but the safety issue was positively (or negatively) demonstrated.

When mother nature is putting on the display in my backyard, I'm happy to watch... I don't want to be part of the act.

One unfortunate lady, a few years ago, was killed when lightening struck a tiny pice of metal in the front of her Bra, killed her friend next to her as well. On average one person a week is killed in Singapore by lightening, (often on the golf course). Once carried the body of an American out of a jungle clearing who had been sitting on a log, surrounded by wood, and a chain saw.

Given the amount of metal on the apron at any one time I won't go out there either!

Plus, even if you could get the tuggies to push you back, who would want to take of with a CB overhead anyway.