Decarbonising Airport Ground Operations

No longer an abstract sustainability ambition, electrifying the aircraft stand is becoming a practical engineering challenge. Key considerations include space and power allocation, safety, operations and long-term resilience. For Deerns, this is where airport decarbonisation moves from strategy into the detailed reality of apron design.

The objective is clear: reduce fossil fuel use around the aircraft as much as possible. This includes electric alternatives for ground power and preconditioned air, and extends to the wider fleet of ground support equipment, from belt loaders and baggage tractors to heavier vehicles such as electric pushback trucks.

Electrification is not simply a question of installing chargers. It is a systems challenge. Every stand is part of a highly choreographed operational environment where aircraft, handlers, vehicles, passengers, baggage, fuel, catering and maintenance activity must all move safely within limited space and strict turnaround times.

From exploration to detailed design

Aircraft stand electrification is moving from exploration to implementation as airports and ground handlers gain greater clarity on the vehicles they will operate. This clarity is essential because vehicle size, movement patterns and, critically, the location of charging ports determine stand layouts, cable reach and traffic flows. This is particularly important for larger vehicles such as pushback trucks, where late specification changes can have significant implications for the entire design.

3 early decisions for new electrification programmes:

• Which ground support vehicles should be electrified first
• Identifying charging ports that should be standardised across the fleet
• The movement of vehicles between stands, waiting areas and charging positions

This is where stakeholder engagement becomes essential. The airport project team may be responsible for the budget and approvals, but the operational knowledge often sits with stakeholder managers, handlers and asset owners.

The power challenge behind the stand

Electrification changes the demand profile of the apron. Ground support vehicles may return to their charging positions at similar times, creating high peak loads followed by periods of much lower demand. Designing only for peak capacity can lead to expensive infrastructure. Designing below the operational requirement can create bottlenecks.

Instead of each charger being limited to a fixed output regardless of how many vehicles are connected, the available capacity can be shared dynamically. When fewer vehicles are charging, additional power can be directed to those still connected, improving efficiency and reducing the need to oversize electrical infrastructure.

Battery buffering provides another way to optimise electrical capacity. Where the available grid connection or substation capacity is insufficient to meet peak charging demand, battery storage can absorb excess energy during quieter periods and discharge it during high-demand periods, effectively smoothing load peaks and supporting a more resilient electrification strategy.

3 considerations for a robust charging strategy:

• Peak and off-peak vehicle demand
• Opportunities for load balancing and battery buffering
• Temporary charging needs during construction phasing

Safety, space and construction reality

Electrification must be integrated into existing stand layouts, service roads, temporary works, terminal operations and future development plans. This work is as much about logistics and phasing as it is about electrical engineering.

Fire safety and construction coordination are critical to successful aircraft stand electrification. Battery fires present unique challenges, but solutions such as wider vehicle spacing or fire barriers may be difficult to implement on congested aprons where space is limited. The challenge is therefore to manage risk while preserving operational capacity.

At the same time, chargers must be integrated with wider airport infrastructure, including terminal, airside and civil works. Deerns’ end-to-end airport perspective helps identify these dependencies early, ensuring that electrification plans are both safe and deliverable.

Towards smarter ground operations

The next stage of decarbonisation will extend beyond the stand. Electric towing solutions, including taxi systems that move aircraft towards the runway without using aircraft engines, point to a wider reduction of emissions and noise across taxiways and aprons. At the same time, electrified ground fleets make it easier for airports to benefit from renewable electricity procurement as their energy mix evolves.

There is also a strategic question about vehicle ownership. At many large airports, each handler operates its own fleet, which can lead to underused equipment and unnecessary overcapacity. Shared or pooled ground support fleets could reduce the number of vehicles required, although commercial responsibility, maintenance and damage liability remain complex issues.

For airports planning the next decade, 3 important questions are:

• How can electrification be standardised without limiting operational flexibility?
• How can the installation of charging infrastructure be phased while the airport remains fully operational?
• How can decarbonisation reduce noise, congestion and energy peaks as well as emissions?

Electrifying the aircraft stand is a practical step towards lower carbon airport operations, but it requires careful integration and a clear understanding of real apron behaviour. Deerns is well placed to support this transition, combining airport systems expertise, electrical infrastructure knowledge and operational design insight to help clients move from ambition to workable, future-ready solutions.