What Happens To An Aircraft During Its Turnaround?

Working at a major airport in europe in different positions such as ramp dispatch and even airline representative, my record is 33 min for a flag airline (not a low cost) on a fully booked 737 during summer. The aircraft arrived late which meant we had to do a short turnaround (speed up the process to cut on the delay). We used every tick un the book and unloaded 180 passenger and loaded another batch back in the plane in 35 min. Another impressive performance was to fully board a 747 with 522 passengers in 17 minutes (from the moment the first passenger was allowed in and the last one entered the aircraft). I was responsible for the turnaround at the time, so I was in charge of the boarding strategy. It was a major success I was not able to replicate again hahaha

"No one makes money when an aircraft is sitting around" Airport parking fees: Allow us to introduce ourselves

I've been on flights where the did everything but push us onto the plane and into our seats. One in particular was a flight to MDW (Chicago Midway) on SW, the tower in our departing city gave our flight 15 min to be in the air due to a small window of good weather before a severe t-storm was scheduled to hit Chicago. I know this because one of the flight attendants was telling a passenger who needed a fire lit under them. This was a full flight, as SW flights to hub airports out of smaller airports usually are, and luckily for all involved this flight had relatively experienced passengers who knew how to hustle (we all just want to "get there" don't we?) and once the word got around that we needed to either get in the air fast or risk deplaning and waiting an hour or more for Chicago's weather to clear, the door was closed before the last few passengers got to their seats and seatbelts were still clicking shut as we pushed back and began to taxi. There was no traffic and when we reached the runway the plane made it's turn onto it and without a seconds hesitation rolled down and we were in the air with seconds to spare. And that storm in Chicago? I truly have no memory of it ever rolling through. This was all based on the fact that flight time was approx 1 hour and they could have dissipated as we were in flight. I do remember later that night waking up to loud claps of thunder.

I used to be ground staff working with a major airline and we only had a team of 4 people to turn our flights. And time was very limited. For a regional jet, we only had 24 minutes to park, empty, service, load and push a flight. For a narrow body mainline jet, we had the same number of staff, but with up to 189 passengers onboard, we were given 34 minutes to do everything. Funny how this is the expectation demanded in outstations, yet the hubs are staffed with a greater number of people (usually 6 just for the outside) working that very same aircraft a flight and always get a greater amount of time (45 minutes plus) to do the same job. Interestingly, due to circumstances that almost impossible to deal with, we actually turned a 50 seat regional jet in 8 minutes. It was a very well choreographed event. The crew contacted us via company radio and told us they were going to "time out" before arriving back in the destination city if a standard turn of 24 minutes happened and thus, the flight would have to be delayed or canceled. However, could we make it work to get them out faster. We got our heads together and made it happen in 8. Our gate agent gave a pep talk to the passengers for that flight about their rapid cooperation if they wanted to get on the flight, any delay would cause cancelation due to pilot work hour limitations. She outlined exactly what everyone needed to do. The ground staff had the same we must fire on all cylinders pep talk. The pilots and flight attendant gave a speech to the passengers on the inbound flight about get up and get out immediately to make this happen. It was mind-blowing how everything worked out. None of the arriving passengers even complained about our not bringing their bags right to the carousel immediately...allowing all our staff to turn that plane first. The pilot must have given a good speech to them. The captain even put us in for an award for the effort and told us when they landed at the destination, they had only 2 more minutes they were allowed to work...that was how close we cut it to make a success out of what was to be an absolute failure of a situation that the events of that day conspired to make us fail by. 13 minutes was the next closest turn time I ever had.

One of my very first turnaround moment was my flight from Singapore to Jakarta back in 2017 using Lion Airlines. I just got checked in, cleared customs, walked to the gate, and saw passangers from the previous flight deplane from the same plane, suddenly after clearing security (which took around 15 mins) we got called in to board. In total the plane took only 30 mins on the gate

As a turnaround manager I managed to turn around a Boeing 767 270in/270 out in 30 minutes one evening. Many steps were shortened but necessary for an on time departure. Many thanks for the assistance of the crew.

Very entertaining and fun to watch. Thanks for posting this.

Turning around international widebody planes is what I do for a living in Florida, it's hot, it's wet but it's so worth it sitting in that cargo hold after loading all the ULDS and pallets and just having a moment before bagroom brings you the last uld, just sitting there getting the breeze blowing into the plane from the cargo door that's outlooking the active runway and you can see aircraft taking off and landing . SO PRETTY. Also I've seen fueling trucks pull up on the plane 20 minutes before departure... lol menzies suck. Thank them for the delays!!

I've experienced a KLM/Transavia flight do a 30 odd minute turnaround and the impressive part was it didn't even feel rushed.

I flew from my native country of Sweden yesterday back to the United States onboard a Scandinavian Airlines A330. I was amazed to see what a plane like that is capable of carrying. Not only a couple of hundred passengers and so many crew members but also, of course, the weight of the plane itself, fuel, tons of cargo and even animals. It's pretty amazing to see a plane like that turn around in a short time.

Team work! Fast turnaround times are great…as long as the plane is safe for the next leg! I think boarding the plane from the rear makes more sense as it doesn’t create a traffic jam in the aisle. Also if people were courteous enough to “leave no trace” the cleaning crew would be faster not to mention appreciate it! Great video

You think things are bad now, Back in '85, we weighed all passenger carry-on bags AND THE PASSENGERS, as we loaded/boarded the ProvincetownBostonAirways DC-3

Please do a vid on ethiopian airlines

I was the one controlling all the activities during aircraft on ground who called Red Cap. The most delayed reason for an aircraft was offloaded the late show or no show passenger’s checked in luggage ……all other activities are well planned so it is not an issue for turn around. I really advised all passengers should arrived at gate 15 mins prior departure which makes all staff’s life easier.

A turnaround is a time trial for the handling staff.

I always dread flying into a hub (though never had this problem at Pearson) and we’re waiting for the jetway to appear….when the aircraft has been flying around all day with steps of its own in the door. I recall landing, pulling up to the gate, and then bloop, we’re here, now get out. Noope, now waiting on the jet bridge that we don’t need (not once did we require it for ADA compliance). At Pearson (and fairly rarely at Philly and Charlotte, hit or miss at Logan) we just use the stairs and are out in no time flat.

As a retired turnaround coordinator: Before arriving plane: 1. Checking apron for items that could do damage. 2. Checking outgoing cargo/mail if it matches with given information. 3. Calling cleaning/fuel services for an estimate time of arrival. First 10 – 15 minutes: 1. Docking. 2. Placing chocks and safety cones. 3. Connecting bridge. 4. Walkaround (checking for damages). 5. Unboarding passengers. 6. Unloading baggage/cargo/mail. 7. Crosscheck special needs with flight crew. Second 10 – 15 minutes: 1. Cleaning inside plane 2. Loading baggage/cargo/mail. 3. Crosscheck fuel figures. 4. Fueling. 5. Requesting boarding time from steward. 6. PIC walkaround. If requested by flight plan/crew: 7. Lavatory cleaning. 8. Refilling water tank. 9. Catering. Final 10 – 15 minutes 1. Boarding. 2. Most equipment removed from apron. 3. Pushback truck arrival. 4. Walkaround pushback driver. 5. Checking missing passengers. 6. Finalizing flight. 7. Crosscheck Weight & Balance with PIC. 8. Closing doors & removing bridge. Making notes of any disruptions in order to correctly assign delay codes.

Great video! EK203 from DXB to JFK has a turnaround time of about 3.50 hrs before flying back to DXB. The aircraft is an Airbus A380.

Generally, I enjoy watching your videos because they're normally accurate and brief... However, I have to set you straight on a couple of bits on this one. I was an aircraft dispatch officer (ADO)/Redcap (or The Ringmaster, because you were coordinating a circus and you were the one with the whip!) for many years. In all of the video, you assume that everyone knows their job and just gets on with it - and unfortunately, that's totally inaccurate. Everyone needs the Ringmaster to coordinate the lot, and drive that turnaround harder. They all look to one person to coordinate the lot. It is their role that's essential in a turn around. This seemed to be missing in the video. There was a brief mention of 'Turn Around Managers' (maybe that's the modern term?), but you gave no idea of what they do. This is what they do... Long before the aircraft arrives, the dispatch officer is busy calculating the weight and balance of the aircraft with it's predicted load to aim for a correct CoG, along with a guesstimate fuel loading - dependent on it's specific gravity of the fuel at the time you request it (to be finalized by the flight deck on arrival). All along with calculated trim settings. Departure slots have to be communicated to the relevant centre, in the case of the UK, that was Brussels, back when I did the job.This is all before the aircraft arrives. Then, when the bird lands, and let's assume it's a big one, say a 747, you have 900 off and on pax to sort, up to 30 crew off and on because there'll be a change in a big bird... Fuellers, baggage handlers, caterers, cleaners, potable water, honey cart, pushback tugs, special requirement passenger handlers, ATC as well if you have problems with the aircraft (one - meeting it's schedule - or Two, a problem with the aircraft or crew themselves. Don't be under any illusion - the ADO can cancel your slot at a moment's notice if they're not happy with that flight - and I've done it when the Captain says they want to go and I say they don't!). The best way to think of an ADO is, it might be the Skipper's aircraft in the air, but on the ground, it's mine (even though the Skipper is in charge ultimately - most captains know that you know your job and defer to you until you release that aircraft for flight. Most skippers rely on their ADO like their right hand on the ground). Coordinating almost 1000 people in total, in an hour when thousands and hundreds of thousands of dollars are involved in a delay. You need to know your job and do it with skill, knowledge and confidence. BTW - personal record for a Ryanair B738 (MAN-DUB), full pax load in and out, and already round-trip fuelled - 21min from brakes on arrival to brakes off pushback! Let me know if you can beat that 😁 I hope my rantings have demonstrated a little more clearly what happens on a turn around. Those years have passed for me, but when you see that ADO, give them a hug, because they're the ones pushing hard to get you away on time or even early, yet nobody even sees them!

Fastest turnaround I've witnessed was a Ryanair flight in 2006 into Göteborg City Airport in Sweden while on a group trip. Once we got through immigration and exited the terminal (which due to the size of the terminal and number of flights, did not take long), we witnessed our plane taking back off again