Aerodrome & Ground Environment (AGE)
Enhancing airport and runway safety through better design, operations, and pilot awareness
Airport design, airside operations, and the ground environment play a critical role in ensuring safe and efficient aircraft movement. Effective aerodrome infrastructure, clear visual guidance, and well-designed procedures support pilot decision-making and situational awareness, particularly in complex and congested environments.
Key priorities in this area include runway safety, including the prevention of incursions and excursions, as well as the management of operational risks such as wildlife hazards. Practical tools, such as the Runway Safety Course, help pilots understand and mitigate these risks.
Ground Ops & Human Factors
Lighting & Visual Aids
Airport Ground Safety Risks
Runway Safety
Enhancing Safety in Airside Operations
Operations on the ground require constant coordination between pilots, vehicles, and airport infrastructure, often in environments where traffic density, visibility, and changing conditions increase complexity. Safe outcomes depend on clear procedures, reliable visual cues, and predictable system behaviour.
Particular attention is given to how pilots interact with runway environments, apron operations, and aerodrome systems in real-time. This includes managing risks such as runway incursions, maintaining situational awareness during taxi, and adapting to environmental factors such as lighting conditions or wildlife activity.
The focus across these areas is on improving usability, consistency, and operational clarity so that pilots can make timely and accurate decisions, even in high-workload or degraded situations.
Latest Publications
Future Ground Handling
The introduction of automated and autonomous systems in airport ground handling offers potential efficiency and safety benefits but also raises
Runway Starter Extensions
This paper examines the operational and safety considerations of Runway Starter Extensions (RSEs), which provide additional take-off distance where full
Winter Conditions at Finland Airports
Update: Safe winter operations normally require special procedures by airline maintenance, engineering, ground crew, and de-icing personnel. In Finland, FINAVIA
Anti-collision Equipment for Ground Operations
No abstract is currently available. Please click on Download to view this publication in PDF.
Alternate Aerodrome Requirements
This paper advocates for raising the minimum safety and infrastructure standards at airports designated as alternate aerodromes. IFALPA highlights the
Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS) Training
This paper highlights the need for standardized pilot training on Engineered Materials Arresting Systems (EMAS). IFALPA urges operators to incorporate
Meet the Team
Capt. Jeffrey Sedin
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Capt. Sedin flies the B-737 as an LCA for United Airlines. He is currently the Chair of the Airport Ground and Environment group with ALPA International (Canada and USA). He has been the Airport Safety Liason at Chicago O’Hare Airport since 1989. He believes the relationships he has built through the years to be the foundation of success in pilot issues.
FO Sven Grassmueck
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FO Sven Grassmueck flies the Airbus A320 Family for Lufthansa, based in Frankfurt. He has been active in the VC (German ALPA) AGE Committee for several years with a focus on LRST.
Capt. Rob Jackson
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Captain Robert Jackson works for WestJet Airlines, based in Vancouver. He is an active part of WestJet’s training department, training and checking pilots on the B737. He has been an active member of the AGE Committee since 2019.
Capt. Ganeish Hari Ram
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Captain Hari flies the A330 for Singapore Airlines. He has previously flown the B777, A320, A380. He serves as the VP Techincal of ALPA Singapore. His work involves FRMS, RST and FDAP.
Capt. Stacey Jackson
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Captain Jackson flies B737s NG/MAX for WestJet, based in Toronto, Canada. She is an IFALPA-Accredited Accident Investigator, an Accident Investigation course Instructor and a member of the Accident Investigation Board (AIB) for ALPA International. She also serves as Vice-Chair of the Accident Investigation and Response Committee for the WestJet ALPA MEC. She is a Subject Matter Expert in Human Factors and is completing a PhD in Aerospace with a focus in emergency egress and cabin safety centered design.