Ground support equipment tracking: why it matters and how to approach it

Tugs, loaders, belt loaders, stairs, ground power units, baggage carts: ground support equipment is the physical precondition of every turnaround. At many stations it is also the least visible resource. It changes stand every few minutes, passes from one team to another, and its actual location is often known only to whoever is driving it. GSE tracking answers a simple question asked dozens of times per wave: where is the equipment I need, and is it available?

This article explains why tracking has become an operational, safety and compliance issue, and which principles help put it in place without going off track. It does not recommend any particular technology: the right choice depends on each airport.

What are we talking about?

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/20 on ground handling defines ground support equipment (GSE) as a motorised or non-motorised mobile vehicle, apparatus or piece of equipment designed, built and used for the provision of ground handling services on the movement area of an aerodrome.

Around a single A320, Airbus’s airport planning documentation lists some fifteen types of equipment in its turnaround layouts: boarding bridge or stairs, ground power unit, air conditioning unit, air start unit, catering truck, conveyor belt, lower deck cargo loader, bulk train, ULD train, cleaning truck, fuel hydrant dispenser or tanker, lavatory vehicle, potable water vehicle and tow tractor. Multiply that by the number of stands and flights in a wave and you have hundreds of movements to coordinate.

First issue: minutes lost searching

IATA delay codes dedicate several entries to equipment: code 33 for loading equipment missing or broken down, 34 for servicing equipment such as steps, 39 for technical equipment such as the pushback tug. EUROCONTROL’s A-CDM manual lists among ground handler objectives the reduction of delays due to late equipment, such as buses, pushback tractors or steps.

Equipment can be missing for three very different reasons: there is not enough of it, it is broken, or it is available but nobody knows where. The third is the most frustrating, and it is the one tracking removes. Without visibility, the supervisor goes on the radio, sends an agent to look, or takes equipment from another flight, at the risk of simply moving the problem. Our article on reducing handling-related delays puts these minutes in the context of all delay causes.

Second issue: ground damage

Ground damage is the other major cost linked to equipment. According to an IATA study published in December 2022:

• the annual cost of ground damage could double to nearly USD 10 billion by 2035 unless preventive action is taken;
• once the aircraft is stationary, the main cause of damage is motorised GSE striking the fuselage;
• belt loaders, cargo loaders, passenger stairs and passenger boarding bridges cause 40% of total incidents;
• the widebody ground damage rate is ten times higher than for narrowbodies.

IATA has recommended equipment fitted with anti-collision systems, known as Enhanced GSE, since 2017, and estimates that moving 75% of the global fleet of those four equipment types to Enhanced GSE would reduce the expected ground damage cost per turn by 42%.

Tracking does not replace that equipment. It adds something else: knowing which piece of equipment was on stand at the time of an incident, who was using it and for which flight, and rebuilding the facts quickly. That helps the internal investigation, the discussion with the airline and the correction of root causes.

Third issue: maintenance and compliance

Regulation (EU) 2025/20, which applies from 27 March 2028, devotes a whole subpart to ground support equipment. Among other things, it requires ground handling organisations to make sure their equipment is:

• inspected before first use in operation or before the start of seasonal operation;
• serviceable and in good condition, so as not to injure people or damage the aircraft;
• operated according to its instructions, used only for its intended purpose and suitable for the aircraft type;
• maintained under a maintenance programme, including preventive maintenance, in line with the manufacturer’s instructions.

Unserviceable equipment must be clearly tagged “out of service”, withdrawn from operations and promptly moved to dedicated maintenance or storage areas, and maintenance records must be kept for each item. Drivers must hold a valid licence, be authorised by the airport operator to drive on the apron and be trained.

Recital 16 of the regulation states that the rules are meant to be technology-neutral and leave room for models such as equipment pooling where the aerodrome allows it. Reliable tracking of each item’s status and use makes these requirements easier to meet: you know which unit is out of service, which is due for maintenance and which is used the most.

Fourth issue: electrification

The move to electric equipment changes how a fleet is managed. According to IATA, a study based on an average EU country found that electric GSE produce 35% to 52% less CO2 per turnaround and are 5.5 to 8.3 dB(A) quieter than conventional equipment. IATA also stresses that the transition requires a review of both ramp operations and airport infrastructure.

In practice, electric equipment has to be charged, which makes its remaining range an operational data point alongside its location. Assigning a turnaround to a unit that cannot finish it is a delay waiting to happen.

Another European obligation changes how stands are equipped. Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 (AFIR) requires Member States to ensure, at airports on the trans-European transport network, electricity supply to stationary aircraft at all contact stands used for commercial air transport by 31 December 2024, and at all remote stands by 31 December 2029; airports with fewer than 10,000 commercial movements a year may be exempted for remote stands. This text does not cover the electrification of GSE itself, but it changes the role of mobile ground power units on the apron.

Fifth issue: people’s safety

The apron is, in IATA’s words, a place where aircraft, GSE and people are in constant motion in all weathers. Knowing where equipment moves helps organise traffic flows, spot congestion and enforce safety areas around the aircraft, such as the equipment restraint area that Regulation (EU) 2025/20 requires to be kept clear.

Principles of good tracking

Whatever technology is chosen, useful tracking follows a few principles.

Know where, for whom and in what state

Location alone is not enough. What supports decisions is the combination: where the unit is, which flight it is assigned to, whether it is available, in service or out of service. A tug visible on a map but already reserved for the next flight is not available.

Link equipment to flights

Equipment assigned to a specific turnaround lets you read the station flight by flight: which flight is waiting for which unit, which unit is holding up which flight. It is also what later allows an incident or a delay minute to be tied to precise facts.

Think about usage over time

Usage history reveals under-used and over-used equipment, helps size the fleet and plan maintenance on actual use rather than the calendar.

Track equipment, not people

Equipment is driven by employees. In France, the data protection authority (CNIL) sets a framework for geolocating vehicles used by employees: it accepts purposes such as vehicle security or better allocation of resources, but rules out permanent monitoring of an employee, and requires prior information of staff and employee representatives as well as limited retention. GDPR principles apply: defined purpose, data minimisation, limited retention.

Stay technology-neutral

The European regulation is itself meant to be technology-neutral. The choice of location technology depends on the airport layout, the fleet, who owns it (handler, airport, pool) and local constraints. What matters is the use: accurate, up-to-date information shared with those who need it.

How Turnpilot helps

Turnpilot’s apron map module shows where every piece of equipment and every cart is, which flight it serves and whether it is available, without going through the radio. It is built into the turnaround control view, so equipment assignments can be read flight by flight. For airports managing shared equipment, the airports page describes how it is used.