april2023 - 26

Ground Service Providers
Global Standards
for Ground Support
How IATA creates policies, procedures and technical
specifications in an industry with many complexities.
BY REBECCA KANABLE
T
he International Air Transport
Association (IATA) develops
industry standards for ground
operations, and with the IATA Airport
Handling Manual (AHM) and
IATA Ground Operations Manual
(IGOM), the organization has created
" an encyclopedia " for the industry,
which helps promote and drive
global implementation of standards.
These standards include policies and
procedures covering passenger, baggage,
ramp, cargo and mail handling,
as well as technical specifications for
GSE, automation on the ramp, minimum
standards for ground ops frontline
personnel training and more.
Irrespective of the airline or ground
handler, or their location, standards
ensure a global baseline and that
the same, or similar, processes are
taking place.
IATA's work to set standards is
especially important because ground
operations are not globally regulated,
and within the industry, there are many
complexities.
26 || Ground Support Worldwide || April 2023
Iva Pluhackova, IATA head of operations
and standards, gives examples of
some of the complexities. Airlines, which
are responsible for ground ops, subcontract
80 percent or more of handling to
third-party ground handling service
providers. Airlines are responsible for
providing instruction on how to handle
an aircraft and provide oversight of the
ground handlers.
" It sounds clear and easy, " she says.
But it's not. For example, if a ground
handler provides service to 200 airlines,
there would be 200 different manuals
with specific airline procedures.
" If you take into account that those
manuals are updated on a weekly or
monthly basis, it becomes impossible
to follow all updates, brief and train
relevant personnel, " she says. It also
becomes difficult to ensure every flight,
which could be more than 200 a day, are
handled according to a specific airline's
procedures, she adds.
Conversely, an airline that flies on
average two times a day to 100 destinations
might have 200 different handlers
and 400 flights to monitor. The airlines
need to ensure that all handlers receive
updated manuals, acknowledge receipt of
the manuals and implement the updates.
" So it is complex, but it does not have
to be, nor should it be, " Pluhackova says.
Airlines are operating similar types of
aircraft, flying to the same destinations
and using the same ground handlers.
Regardless of who owns or operates an
aircraft, or where it is, it should be handled
the same way, she says. Similarly,
ground handlers should receive similar
training, regardless of where or for
whom they work.
The same applies to GSE technical
specifications, she says. The GSE needs
to fit various aircraft, meet certain technical
and safety parameters, and where
possible, should be operated in a similar
fashion irrespective of the manufacturer
or equipment type.
Who Benefits from
These Standards?
When standards are in place, the entire
industry benefits, she says, " by ensuring
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