SUMMARY
Ramp Safety Practices: Update

The demand for air travel in recent years has demonstrated sustained growth. In 2024, total operations in the United States reached 9.75 million—a 4.7% increase from 2023 and an 11.9% increase relative to 2022. Airport ramps areas (which are relatively small, busy, and congested work areas) can be dangerous for ground workers and other personnel. Activities on the ramp include servicing aircraft, baggage loading and off-loading, and catering and fueling services. In addition, airport employees, security, FAA, airline personnel, construction workers, and others may be present on ramps.

Ramp operations are conducted in an environment marked by (1) high activity density, (2) simultaneous use of ground support equipment (GSE) and aircraft, and (3) scheduling demands. These conditions significantly increase the potential for occupational injuries and fatalities and damage to aircraft and equipment. The coordination of flight arrivals and departures magnifies operational complexity, and, although rapid gate turns benefit airlines economically, such turns also contribute to congestion on the ramp. In this context, ramp safety is a fundamental element of an airportʼs safety management system (SMS) which provides a structure for hazard identification, risk assessment, and mitigation. The integration of SMS principles into ramp operations enables airports to (1) address operational hazards systematically, (2) reduce the probability of accidents and incidents, and (3) strengthen overall safety performance through audits, inspections, safety reviews, and other mechanisms.

The objective of this synthesis was to collect current airport practices for ramp safety programs. The audience for this synthesis is airport, airline, and tenant operators who oversee or work on the ramp. Current practices were collected through a survey and sampling of airports in the United States, from large hub primary airports to non-hub airports, GSPs, and airlines who have ramp personnel. The surveys examined key aspects of ramp safety practices such as the following:

• Types of training, frequency of training, and who is involved in the training;
• Human factors issues in preparing programs or policies for ramp safety;
• Communication with ramp workers (including employees for the airports, airlines, and GSPs), along with the types of communication used and frequency of outreach;
• Safety culture status and methods used; and
• Data collection and types of data used in performance measures of safety programs at the airport.

The online survey was sent to airport managers at airports classified as primary airports by the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) (i.e., airports with scheduled air carrier service and 10,000 or more enplaned passengers per year). Follow-up online surveys were then sent to GSP and airline staff identified by the airports and were distributed through appropriate technical committees of TRB. A total of 305 emails were sent to large hub, medium

hub, small hub, and non-hub airports, representing activity at 320 airports in the United States. Seventy-nine surveys were completed during the study, representing roughly one-quarter of all airports. Seven surveys were completed by GSPs and those results are presented along with the results provided by the airports. Only one airline survey response was received (this limited response may have resulted from concerns about disclosing proprietary company information and sharing sensitive operational details).

Some airports were selected for use as case examples and the authors carried out follow-up interviews in those situations. The survey results and interviews collected from case examples provide a snapshot of the current ramp area safety practices and offer the following key conclusions:

• Airports (1) use various safety training activities and notifications and (2) layer airport information with airline/GSP training for ramp personnel. Although many airports do not audit the safety programs of GSPs, most airports perform safety inspections of ramp areas, especially critical areas of the ramp.
• Human factors issues are being considered in ramp safety programs. Procedures and policies regarding worker awareness of surroundings, reducing worker distraction, and weather-related events are being developed. Human factors issues not addressed by airports include interaction with automated equipment and potential communication difficulties among workers.
• Airports use various techniques to communicate about safety, safety issues, incidents, weather events, and other topics. Incident reviews and root-cause analysis are common, as are emails to personnel and having safety personnel on the agenda at meetings (e.g., with FAA and air operations area (AOA) staff and tenants).
• Airports are integrating safety culture into the daily operations of ramp workers, and safety is a constant focus for workers, tenants, airlines, and airport employees. Of the 56 airports that responded, 43 are using strategies to integrate safety culture into daily operations. Several case example airports use foreign object debris (FOD) walks, safety audits, signage, modeling of proper safety, and frequent reminders and training.
• Performance measure data collection is seen as important, with larger airports collecting more data and tracking data on ramp safety. All surveyed airports reported some use of performance evaluations, but larger airports tend to collect more data than smaller airports.