Ground time
The scheduled time between an aircraft's arrival and its next departure — as little as 25 minutes at low-cost carriers.
Definition
Ground time is the scheduled interval between an aircraft blocking on at the gate and blocking off for its next sector. It covers disembarkation, cleaning, catering, refuelling, the crew's security and safety checks and the next boarding. Low-cost carriers plan ground times of 25-35 minutes on narrow-bodies; long-haul wide-bodies at a hub may sit for two hours or more.
What it means for you
Ground time is the least visible part of a duty and the one that decides whether you get to eat. On a four-sector day a 25-minute turnaround leaves no room for a break, and at most airlines ground time is duty time but not flying time — so under an hourly pay model you are working through it unpaid. It is also where your cabin-secure discipline is tested most.
In practice
A Ryanair crew at Stansted have a scheduled 25-minute ground time: the last passenger is off, the cabin swept, the galley restocked and the next boarding called before the inbound crew bus has left the stand.
Related terms
4 terms- TurnaroundRoster & schedulingThe ground time between an aircraft's arrival and its next departure, and by extension a duty that goes out and comes straight back.
- SectorFlight operationsOne flight from take-off to landing. A day's duty is counted in sectors, and low-cost pay is often earned per sector.
- On-time performanceFlight operationsThe share of an airline's flights that depart or arrive within 15 minutes of schedule — a headline metric that trickles down to crew.
- Duty periodRoster & schedulingAny continuous period of work for the airline — flying, standby, training, positioning or ground tasks — from report to release.