I decided to expand a post I made under the ShelterBox Donation thread to explain what goes into an operation like the airlift of aid into Haiti today.
Airline ground operations are complex, equipment intensive and require trained people. It's not like going out and unloading a U-Haul truck. Specialized equipment and training is mandatory for servicing large civil aircraft.
More below the fold > >
Airline and air cargo operations require more support than most people realize. Trained people, manual/motorized equipment, ramp space and a safe clean source of fuel are mandatory. Space is at a premium - the only place more space-intensive than an overwhelmed airport ramp is an aircraft carrier flight deck.
Think of this diary as a very short, simplified, "for Dummies" level primer. If nothing else, you'll have a better appreciation of what you see going on the next time you are at an airport. I hope after reading this and following some of the links I have provided, you'll have a better understanding of what's going on in Haiti right now and why it seems to take so long to get supplies there and out to the people that desperately need them.
Airport Description
The airport at Port au Prince, Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport, has a single runway which also serves as a taxiway. It also has limited ramp space to park, unload and service aircraft. There is one large ramp and two smaller ramps. One of the smaller ramps (at the far east of the airport) may not be useable. I can't tell from Google Earth. There are a few other airports on Hispaniola, but this is the closest one to the scene. The airport introduces problems right away. It's designed for tourism, not massive airlifts. This is no one's fault, but it's a major factor.
Issues
The first problem is that aircraft have to turn around and taxi to the ramp on the runway, which slows down the arrival rate. Time has to be allowed for each arriving aircraft to leave the runway before the next one can land. A few minutes delay between aircraft can add up to hours by the end of the day.
The next problem is where to park them. There isn't a lot of space to work with and the airport equipment (below) needs room to operate. Only so many aircraft can safely use a ramp at one time. Collisions between taxiing aircraft would just make matters worse. The damage caused would likely mean that they couldn't leave until they are repaired - and there went two more desperately needed parking spots.
In addition, you need someplace reasonably safe and secure to put the offloaded cargo. That can be left in the open on paved areas, but not necessarily on unpaved areas. That depends on how heavy it is and how it is being moved there. It also needs to be secured to prevent theft - There are many desperate people who need those supplies and criminal gangs know that. Theft and sale of aid at inflated prices only make matters worse.
Couple THAT with a shortage of trained ground crew and lack of equipment.
See typical 747 turn equipment information here:
http://www.boeing.com/...
Cargo containers (ULD's - see below) are large, heavy and demand specialised equipment to off and onload them. You just can't forklift them off the plane. Most civilian aircraft need this equipment - it's not a luxury. You simply can't work without it. The belly of a Boeing 747 sits about 8 feet or so off the ground, the cargo doors are a bit higher than that.
ULD's
Cargo is packed in ULD's (Unit Load Devices), commonly called "LD's" followed with a number indicating size and shape (LD-1, LD-6, etc.). They are also commonly called "cans," because they look and function in the same way as a can that holds soup or beans...just on a huge scale. These LDs make it possible to get the most cargo on an aircraft safely and make it possible to unload and load rapidly. There are two general kinds, pallet LD's and LD containers.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/...
So, another big problem in Haiti is that motorized equipment is needed to load and unload the cans. Also needed are cargo tugs and the wheeled carts they tow, to move the cargo away for storage. This all requires undamaged equipment, fuel and trained people. There is almost certainly a shortage of equipment, so if all the equipment is in use, others may have to wait their turn...more delay in unloading.
Trained ground crews
Untrained people can damage the equipment, the airplane, the cargo...and may even accidentally kill someone. A live ramp is NOT a place for amateurs - trust me. It's easy to get hurt or killed out there, especially with this much activity and confusion. I know of at least three people that were killed on the ramp during my 25 years of airline ground servicing, as well as dozens injured. Accidents and death on the ramp can be sudden and gruesome. It's much more likely to happen when people are overtired, hurrying or working in bad weather. How many of those factors are in play in Haiti right now?
Mechanicals and low fuel
Couple that with a few aircraft stuck there due to lack of fuel or mechanical problems ("mechanicals" in airline slang), taking up desperately needed ramp space. What do you do with them? There's no place to move them. If moved off the ramp, they will probably sink into the ground or thin pavement and become (as we jokingly call them) "diners." As in, "It's so stuck that it's a diner. Take the wings off and sell hot dogs from it." (Picture a 1950's all-aluminium diner and you'll get the joke.) Heavy jets put an incredible amount of weight on their landing gear, which is transmitted to the concrete below them. A typical 747 needs a ramp 13 inches thick to keep it from sinking into or punching through into the ground below. Pushing a large jet off the ramp and out of the way is not an option unless you plan on leaving it there a long, long time. Maybe forever.
See http://www.boeing.com/...
Note: Military aircraft like the C-130, C-17 and C-5 are designed NOT to need this equipment. They are either low enough or can "kneel" to allow access. Large civilian aircraft are designed assuming ground equipment will be available. A C-5 can kneel low enough that vehicles can be driven on and off of it. This makes for VERY fast loading and unloading.
See
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Fuel
Then there's the fuel problem...Local fuel was either stored in underground tanks or above ground tanks. Underground tanks are most likely breached by the earthquake and contaminated or empty. Above ground tanks may be destroyed, empty or leaking badly. That may explain why there are planes there without enough fuel to leave. Many ground vehicles and other equipment are diesel-powered and can use jet fuel if necessary. Many of the smaller vehicles, like the tugs that pull cargo carts, typically use the same gasoline your car uses. So you need at least two different kinds of fuel to get much done. Oh, and by the way, large aircraft demand large, specialized fuel trucks. It's impossible to fuel a large jet any other way, as large jets have pressure fueling ports under their wings. They are several feet off the ground and difficult to reach without the right equipment.
Aircraft fueling, aircraft weight and payload
Speaking of fuel, remember that the fuel required will be specifically calculated for each flight, meaning that the aircraft will have to carry enough fuel to taxi, take off, fly and land, plus sufficient fuel to get to an alternate airport, if required. If there is no fuel available at the airport, they will have to carry fuel for the round-trip, thus cutting into the cargo ("payload") they can carry. This is because all aircraft have various weight limits that MUST be observed. An aircraft with round trip fuel must arrive at Haiti at or below its maximum landing weight to avoid damage to the airplane or the runway.
747 stats as an example
For example, here's what Boeing says about their 747-400's fuel consumption, a typical large aircraft used for cargo. (The numbers for Airbus aircraft are similar.)
"The 747-400ER can carry more than 63,500 gallons of fuel (240,370 L), making it possible to fly extremely long routes, such as Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia.
A 747-400 that flies 3,500 statute miles (5,630 km) and carries 126,000 pounds (56,700 kg) of fuel will consume an average of five gallons (19 L) per mile.
The 747-400 carries 3,300 gallons (12,490 L) of fuel in the horizontal (tail) stabilizer, allowing it to fly an additional 350 nautical miles."
Unscheduled aircraft may demand to land, but if there's no place to put them, they'll be diverted. This is why coordination and communication is so important at a time like this. You just can't "show up."
As you may expect, this creates multiple "chicken or egg" problems. What or who do you send first? Fuel for ground equipment? Ground equipment? Trained people? Aid supplies? Security people? Doctors and nurses? The aid arriving in the victim's hands is at the "head" of a very long and complex "tail" of people, equipment and fuel.
This is just a short capsule of the airside operation. The rest of the relief operation makes it geometrically more difficult to carry out. This is why logistics and disaster response is a specialty of it's own up to the doctorate level.
I'm actually thinking of going back for a second degree....