Ground_Support_October_2020 - 21

INTERNATIONAL

Schedule Changes
Travel restrictions are having a significant impact on air travel and all related
stakeholders.
"Fragmented and unilateral application of entry requirement, border closures
and quarantine measures means that, of
course, airlines must change their schedules at short notice to adapt to the demand.
Naturally, the number of ground handling
staff across the industry has reflected this,
seeing a reduction in the amount of staff
themselves and in the number of working
hours," says Montserrat Barriga, director
general of the European Regions Airline
Association (ERA).
Since most of the flights currently operated are intra-European, airlines adjust
their schedules according to changing
quarantine and traveling restrictions
imposed by each country.
"Because the information is always public and accessible in advance, BGS is able
to pre-plan decreases/increases in demand
and meet the current market needs at every
airport it is operating," says Gumuliauskas.
The European Organization for the
Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known
as EUROCONTROL, indeed provides
information on a daily basis.
"The air carriers are the ground handlers' customers, there is a contractual
relationship among them," states Erkelens.
"There is an IATA standard for a ground
handling agreement, but the contracting
parties are free to make their contractual
arrangements. Thus, the changes in the
service and the cost thereof for the airlines may vary according to the contractual
arrangements between the airlines and the
ground handlers."

Aviation Health Safety
Following the COVID-19 Aviation Health
Safety Protocol, published for the first time
May 21, 2020 by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and
Control (ECDC), ground handling service
providers have been taking a series of measures in relation to their activities at EU
airports.
"The protocol contains operational
guidelines for the management of air pas-

sengers and aviation personnel in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. In line
with the evolution of the pandemic, these
guidelines are being regularly updated,
and consequently the measures evolve.
The impacted ground handling activity
is mainly passenger handling and aircraft
services, which includes the cleaning of the
aircraft," says Erkelens.
The protocol aims at avoiding symptomatic passengers and crew members being
present for departure.
It underlines the need for the implementation of physical distancing, enhanced
hygiene measures for both staff and passengers and enhanced facility cleaning
procedures.
"Contact and touching of surfaces should
be minimized by the use of electronic
alternatives," says Erkelens, noting mobile
check-in and non-contact boarding as
examples. "Health safety promotion materials must be made available. Face masks
are recommended for all persons within
the airport and aircraft. Procedures for safe
disposal of the masks need to be in place.
"The ground handlers must provide
personal protective equipment (PPE) to
their staff members and ensure that they
are trained in the appropriate use of this
PPE," she continues. "Staff members

who interact with passengers directly, or
not from behind a screen, should wear a
medical face mask, gloves and uniforms
to be changed daily, and, where uniforms
cannot be changed daily, a protection suit
should be used."
It's requested ground handlers enhance
cleaning activities "both in amplitude and
frequency," following the ECDC guidance
requiring the use of standard detergents,
hand-disinfectant at security locations and
avoiding air blowing procedures.
"Aircraft should be cleaned and disinfected in accordance with the EASA aircraft
cleaning and disinfection guidance. Finally,
the passenger handling service may include
taking the statement from passengers on
their COVID-19 status before handing over
the boarding pass," says Erkelens.
Barriga observes that there is indeed a
high number of publications, regulations
and standards from the EU, EASA, ECDC,
International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) and World Health Organization
(WHO), but she believes that one of the
biggest problems seems to be the national
regulations set in addition to what is recommended by these authorities.
"This leads to some uncertainty as how
to act in the right way. This is also compounded by the fact that by its very nature,

OCTOBER 2020

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