Aircraft Service time at the Gate

[Airportz_R_us]

In aviation terms, what is the time required to service an aircraft from the time it is towed to the gate to the time of take off called? in airport terms this is called a slot (feel free to correct me), but different aircrafts requre different times to service right? and from what I read airport slots are almost fixed periods of time (of 10 minutes, 20...etc.)

 

[Aviador]

Firstly welcome to Forums4airports Airportz_R_us

I think you are referring to what's know as the "turnaround time" which varies from aircraft to aircraft. Usually for an aircraft of a 737-300 size this is usually around 60 minutes although it is possible to do a turnaround in 30 minutes but it's a rush. Larger aircraft take longer to turnaround. A 757 would normally take between 60 and 90 minutes. There will be others who can explain further.

 

[Airportz_R_us]

Thanks a lot Aviador, I have another question, basically Turnaround time is the time needed for the aircraft to fuel, load/unload the pax, get serviced ...etc.

But what about De-Icing and Anti-Icing? are they done when the aircraft is parked at the gate and add to the turnaround time?

Again, Thanks a lot 🙂

 

[Aviador]

Most airports do de-icing at the gate after the passengers have boarded and when the aircraft is ready to depart. This is because the de-icing fluid only works for a short period of time before the aircraft would need redoing. Some larger airports do de-icing at holding areas near the runway. The time for de-icing is normally built into the turnaround time or the pilot would need to request a new departure slot from air-traffic.