The aircraft turnaround is the core process in the airport that drives the operation of all other processes: passengers, baggage, freight, ramp operations. The aircraft turnaround needs to be executed on-time complying with the planned schedule by ensuring that the targeted payload (passenger, baggage and freight) has been completely embarked and loaded into the aircraft. Aircraft turnarounds imply complex procedures and delays can be extremely costly for airlines. A number of ground operations and processes have to be performed, some in sequence, some in parallel, to service the aircraft. For this reason, an improved operational punctuality could lead to cost savings and improved customer service. The application of a set of a streamlined turnaround processes could reduce the impact of any unforeseen disturbances.

Currently, the turnaround operation is a set of separately managed, different processes taking place in the same airport environment: passengers, baggage, freight and ramp operations. This approach normally leads to independent process strategies and objectives, which in some cases may also be uncoordinated causing negative impacts and inefficiencies.

In today’s operations, interactions among processes are not clearly identified and sometimes some processes are treated in an isolated manner from the rest in terms of logistics and information sharing. A clear example is the freight process. Airport operations need to evolve in terms of enhancing the predictability and the control of the interactions among processes that are likely to happen in the overall turnaround operation. These interactions could be primary or secondary in terms of the impact they may have on other processes and/or on the turnaround operation. Process performance indicators and associated targets and milestones should be defined (or even redefined) in a coordinated way in order to take into account the identified interactions and the impact on the overall performance indicators and targets of the turnaround process.

Nowadays, the growing concerns regarding environmental issues make it important to analyse the environmental effect of the turnaround process. Over the last few years, concerns about water savings and waste recycling have increased considerably and the majority of GSEs used have not changed significantly. Summing to that the fact that traffic in apron areas is currently higher than necessary due to the little information sharing and the separately management of the turnaround operations, there is a patent need to develop new solutions aimed at diminishing the current level of emissions at the apron, enhance the loading of potable water to the aircraft and the treatment of recyclables.