[Flyingfemme]

Serious question here. We all know about the proliferating "handling fee" thing that is happening at a lot of airports. Handling has been around for "major" airports and most foreign places for many years.
In the old days it was sort of a necessary evil. You dropped in to an airport in a foreign land and the handlers provided all the services one needed, at an outrageous cost. They organised fuel, paid landing fees/nav fees/parking fees as needed, booked hotels and taxis (at favourable crew rates), gave you a weather briefing folder, constructed and filed your flight plan and handed you a nice, printed acknowledgement. If they were a "nice place" they supplied endless tea/coffee/biscuits/sweeties, a clean toilet and somewhere to sit while they ran around and did all this stuff. Going anywhere without this service would have next to impossible.
Fast foward to 2020 and what, from this long list, do we actually still need? And more to the point, what do we get? Pretty much bugger all. Smart phones and subscription services mean that we all get our own weather, file the flightplans, book hotels and Ubers and organise fuel on account. All the handler really does is collect your landing fee and let you through the gate. For which they charge a hefty fee and get in the way, delaying the real business of the day - going somewhere else!
Why is it considered acceptable, or necessary?

[Dave W]

'zackly.

If it was useful, people would want it - so it wouldn't have to be mandatory.

[lobstaboy]

A tax

[James Chan]

Why is it considered acceptable, or necessary?

It's forced upon us at larger aerodromes, mainly as a means of escort / security. So that GA does not "mix"or hand over items to those security cleared to board larger passenger jets.

Handling agents USA charge some $25-$30 for light aircraft, waived on uplift of fuel.

In the UK they can range between £15 to £400 +VAT: viewtopic.php?t=111967

[defcribed]

While the various nice-to-haves which used to be must-haves are still there for the bizjet pilot, I think the relevance of handling to the private pilot is centered upon having somewhere to park, somewhere to move between landside and airside, and someone to act as airport administrator for you - i.e. give you a bill and take your money.

The need is not there at smaller airfields and aerodromes, because you just park with everyone else, use the same gate as everyone else and pay at the desk like everyone else, but once you're visiting somewhere big enough to describe itself as an airport these things become an issue. You have to 'go' somewhere, or in aviation parlance be 'handled' by someone.

Generally the airport does not set itself up to deal with light GA and (presumably for a fee or it forming part of their tenancy deal) delegates the activity to a based operator of some sort. This operator then lets you park on their apron and use their gate, for which they charge you a fee that they describe as 'handling' for want of anything else.

Take Guernsey for example. You can't use a gate at the passenger terminal, the aeroclub won't take you because they have very limited space, and you have to 'go' somewhere - you can't just park on the apron and walk out of a gate (who knows why, the Americans would probably say it's a fine idea but the British mentality would be that it's obvious that you cannot do that). So you are left with ASG. For a very reasonable consideration (low enough that their fee plus the landing fee they also collect represents good value) you can taxi right up to their smart hangar under the guidance of a friendly marshaller who will get the fuel truck over immediately and then later on after you've jumped in a taxi they'll tow your aircraft to a parking spot on the GA apron.

If it has to happen then ASG are a model of how it should happen. But I really don't see why I couldn't park on the GA apron as directed by the tower and leave/return via a general access gate. Paperwork and payment can be done electronically.

[Straight Level]

I had what must have been the worlds shortest bus apron to terminal transfer when "handled" at Durham tees.
An estimated distance of 18 LDDBls (using the SI units of London Double Decker Bus lengths).

[PeteSpencer]

If you do a practice ILS plus go-around at Norwich you get charged for handling even if the Dunlops don't even touch the tarmac.

Remonstration produces the response 'Well you could have landed and had coffee/biscuits if you'd wanted to.'

Peter

[Chris Martyr]

Handling :
That’s when an aircraft taxis on to a stand and is put on chocks , then they connect up the ground power cables , and then they’ll put the airstairs up against the door[s]
If you’re real lucky , your TCO [despatcher] will arrange your refuelling and other paperwork requirements .
Then when you’ve been to the airfield caff , had your coffee and burger , you return to your aircraft , where a nice aircraft handler will connect up the tug and push you back .

^^^^ yep , all total bollox ^^^^

And high time airfield operators started to show a little professional judgement towards GA and desisted in acting like double-glazing salesmen ...

[defcribed]

If you do a practice ILS plus go-around at Norwich you get charged for handling even if the Dunlops don't even touch the tarmac.

Remonstration produces the response 'Well you could have landed and had coffee/biscuits if you'd wanted to.'

Peter

They may raise the charge, but it doesn't mean you have to pay it. Tell them to sue you.

[welkyboy]

While the various nice-to-haves which used to be must-haves are still there for the bizjet pilot, I think the relevance of handling to the private pilot is centered upon having somewhere to park, somewhere to move between landside and airside, and someone to act as airport administrator for you - i.e. give you a bill and take your money.

The need is not there at smaller airfields and aerodromes, because you just park with everyone else, use the same gate as everyone else and pay at the desk like everyone else, but once you're visiting somewhere big enough to describe itself as an airport these things become an issue. You have to 'go' somewhere, or in aviation parlance be 'handled' by someone.

Generally the airport does not set itself up to deal with light GA and (presumably for a fee or it forming part of their tenancy deal) delegates the activity to a based operator of some sort. This operator then lets you park on their apron and use their gate, for which they charge you a fee that they describe as 'handling' for want of anything else.

Take Guernsey for example. You can't use a gate at the passenger terminal, the aeroclub won't take you because they have very limited space, and you have to 'go' somewhere - you can't just park on the apron and walk out of a gate (who knows why, the Americans would probably say it's a fine idea but the British mentality would be that it's obvious that you cannot do that). So you are left with ASG. For a very reasonable consideration (low enough that their fee plus the landing fee they also collect represents good value) you can taxi right up to their smart hangar under the guidance of a friendly marshaller who will get the fuel truck over immediately and then later on after you've jumped in a taxi they'll tow your aircraft to a parking spot on the GA apron.

If it has to happen then ASG are a model of how it should happen. But I really don't see why I couldn't park on the GA apron as directed by the tower and leave/return via a general access gate. Paperwork and payment can be done electronically.

ASG now charge £20 for their "handling" on top of the landing fee (for a PA28 £21.00!) and a surcharge for credit cards......

[defcribed]

ASG now charge £20 for their "handling" on top of the landing fee (for a PA28 £21.00!) and a surcharge for credit cards......

Well stone me, £41 to use a proper airport on a beautiful island, complete with radar, ILS, lighting, fire cover, etc.

This is half the problem - people expect something for nothing. Do you think all that stuff is free to provide?

For £10 or £15 (wherever, not Guernsey) you get muddy grass and not much in the way of facilities.

[rdfb]

They may raise the charge, but it doesn't mean you have to pay it. Tell them to sue you.

If you do this I think you'll rapidly run out of places you would like to go to.

Another reason I think aerodromes over a certain size should have a mandatory service obligation in return for planning permission to operate.

[Flyingfemme]

Twenty quid! I'd happily pay that. In the last couple of days I have had four handling bills.
€100 at Larnaca - didn't want to go there, didn't need to go there, customs and immigration didn't want to see the aircraft and the airport agreed to bill a local company for the touch-and-go that was "required" before picking up an IFR route out of the country. Then they insisted that the aircraft go to the handlers and shut down (another cycle on the engine) to pay the handling fee for the landing that wasn't required and wasn't being paid for at the time, because they couldn't do a credit card by phone. To add insult to injury, they couldn't do a credit card in person either - two "failed to go though" so the pilot paid cash just to get on the road the same day. Later in the day they admitted by email that BOTH credit cards had actually gone through - so we paid three times!
Over €350 in Malta - for a trip to the "handling office" to pay the bill. No other service was available.
Cannes add a €50 charge to the bill for having the temerity to organise your own fuel with your own account direct. They couldn't scare up a taxi - so after 20 minutes the pilot got an Uber that arrived in less than 5 to take him to the hotel that handling didn't book either.
We considered a fuel stop in Jersey but they wanted £175 for the pleasure of our company.
I'll take a look at Guernsey next time but I doubt it will be £20.
The attitude seems to be that "it's all right for you" and "the owner can afford it".............the owner(s) are a working company like the rest of us and have a living to make as well. And I have always made a point of spending my client's money at least as carefully as I spend my own. I don't like getting ripped off. It's cheaper to go to Narsarsuaq, where they really do have you over a barrel, than most of these places in Europe. No wonder aviation is getting more and more polarised this side of the pond. If you don't have bottomless pockets, and a liking for being taken advantage of, you are left with the "hobby" sector and it's getting more and more difficult to go anywhere on that basis.
/rant it must be time for a glass of wine.

[defcribed]

Ah, well, you're playing in a different sector.

Yes it takes the biscuit, but people pay it I guess and most places have something of a monopoly, on location at least.

I try not to differentiate between landing fees and handling and just consider it all as part of 'what it costs to use the airport'. If that's more than I'm prepared to pay or I feel it really takes the biscuit then I don't go. I don't doubt that airports could have more traffic and make more money if they sorted the handling thing out, but then I don't think airports are usually run by particularly smart people.

[Dave W]

Well stone me, £41 to use a proper airport on a beautiful island, complete with radar, ILS, lighting...

Thing is, thing is... I willingly pay a landing fee already, so what is a handling fee providing over and above that?

When I stay at a hotel but don't use the minibar, don't use the laundry service and don't have breakfast then, astoundingly, they don't charge me for them.

As for the fire service, well - a hotel pays for that out of the "landing fee" equivalent that they charge me.

Compulsory handling is a scam, charging a captive audience an unjustifiable rate for facilities many people do not use.