Ramp holds and airfield reopening

The decision

Heavy rain on the apron slows or stops ground handling. Ramp supervisors decide when to pull crews in, which turns to finish first, and when operations can resume. Each minute of a ramp hold cascades into late departures, missed connections, and crew duty limits.

A hold called too early wastes turn time. A hold called late leaves crews exposed and aircraft half loaded. The earlier the operations center knows how long the heavy rain will last, the better it can re-sequence departures and gates.

What Odeai gives ramp operations

Odeai forecasts rain rate over the airfield and its surroundings in 10-minute steps, three hours ahead, refreshed every 10 minutes. It separates light rain, which crews work through, from rain at 10 mm/h and more.

• Onset of heavy rain: when intense rain is expected to reach the apron, so crews can close out turns in progress.
• Duration: how long the heavy rain is expected to last, so the hold is planned rather than open-ended.
• Reopening: when rain is expected to drop back below the working threshold.

Proof before commitment

Send us a past day of ramp holds at your airport. We can replay the forecast Odeai would have issued, against the rain that fell.