YYZ red alert

[av8ts]

Yesterday during the many red alerts due to lightening I noticed that many ground crews don't work outside however their were some who ignored the red alert and worked anyway. China Eastern and BA crews worked through the alert. Does the airport mandate all outside work stop or is it up to individual companies?

[Mart]

Up to each individual companies until one of their worker or passenger get electrocuted.

[ahramin]

How many airport workers in North America have been electrocuted in the last 50 years?

[GyvAir]

In 25 years, I've personally been around 6 people that I can think of that have had their capacitors unexpectedly charged while working on or around aircraft parked on the ramp. None fatal, fortunately.

[longjon]

Well there you go, no deaths, I'm with one of the previous posters, wait till a few workers die before we get pro active on the issue.

[xchox]

Seen lighting hit planes on the apron near me before. Shook the ground. Thank the lord I haven't seen any person get hit.

[Topspin]

Yesterday during the many red alerts due to lightening I noticed that many ground crews don't work outside however their were some who ignored the red alert and worked anyway. China Eastern and BA crews worked through the alert. Does the airport mandate all outside work stop or is it up to individual companies?

I've worked the ramp at many airports in Canada over the years. Airport authorities don't really mandate anything because although there are many rules, enforcement is pretty much nothing until there's an accident and somebody gets the book thrown at them. Only exception I've seen is YUL which might as well have military police cruising around, and more of them than YVR and YYZ combined.

Rampies working through the Thor alarm, 9 times out of 10 it's the evening shift. Companies generally maintain a policy of mandatory overtime meaning you have no choice but to stay for X hours, usually 2-3, for situations just like this. Rampie usually says "F you I want to go out drinking with my friends, the sooner this plane is loaded and pushed the sooner I can leave."

13 years working on the ground around airports, collectively about a third of that working on the ramp in bits and pieces here and there and I've never even heard of a close call. That's the general attitude on the ramp. Way more impressed by the conditions some pilots choose to depart in than the rampies choosing to load the plane.

[BingBong]

Seen lighting hit planes on the apron near me before. Shook the ground. Thank the lord I haven't seen any person get hit.

You dun seen it?

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