Apron Management is most likely the area of Air Transport Service in which lack of understanding on Air Traffic Management basic principles and concepts have been causing most critical damages to airport operators, airlines, and ultimately their common customers - passengers.
ICAO Annex 14 (Vol. 1: Aerodrome Design and Operations), clearly suggests that "when warranted by the volume of traffic and operating conditions, an appropriate apron management service should be provided, to regulate aircraft and vehicles´ entry, exit and movements within the apron, as needed to ensure safe and expeditious movements within the Apron."
ICAO recommendation is fully aligned with the fact that, as defined in its Airport Service Manual Part 8 - Section 10 (Apron Management and Apron Safety), "Air Traffic Control Service at an aerodrome extends throughout the maneuvering area, but no specific instructions relating to such a service cover the apron. Therefore, an Apron Management service is required to regulate the activities and the movement of aircraft and vehicles on the Apron."
In regions where such ICAO recommendation has not been adopted, a huge misconception has been disseminated, on the nature of the Coordinated Apron Management service, in which "radio control of aircraft requiring start-up and pushback clearance on the Apron is vested in the Air Traffic Control Service unit."
Therefore, it becomes conceptually clear that, unless Apron Management Service (as recommended by ICAO Annex 14) is adopted at an airport, aircraft and vehicles´ movements within the Apron are neither Managed nor Controlled by any entity.
It should be then obvious, although historically neglected in many regions, that while massive investment is done to improve airport operators´ and airlines´ ability to manage, troubleshoot, optimize and predict passengers, baggage and cargo movements within the Passenger Terminal, the Apron (which also lies under Airport Operator´s responsibility) is left unattended, with multiple entities and personnel operating under no centralized management process.
For decades, in many regions, the option for implementing Apron Management Service has been erroneously thought as an Airport Operator/Airline initiative to takeover nonexistent "control" responsibilities, from Air Traffic Controllers, whereas Apron Management Service actual goal, is to perform effective management function, within a critical non-controlled/non-managed area of the airport.
Wise airport operators and airlines, worldwide, are currently working hard, to recover from this conceptual flaw, by implementing an innovative and forward-thinking Apron Management Service, as a true operational arm of their Operations Control Center, within the Apron, where their most expensive assets operate, at the most critical timeframe.
ATMWISE will be delighted to educate Air Transport Service planners, providers and regulators, at any region on how much value they can achieve by adopting Apron Management Service.