Marshalling Training

Trainees learn what the marshaller is responsible for: confirming the stand is clear of personnel and ground support equipment before the aircraft arrives, then guiding it to its parking position. They learn to handle the marshalling wands and perform the 20 core marshalling signals, from Identify Gate and the turn signals through to the emergency signals. They then apply those signals to a complete aircraft arrival, controlling the aircraft's path and speed, stopping it precisely on the stop marking, and securing it with set brakes and chocks inserted.

They cover different signal sets for different jobs. The Hand Signals course trains the 27 standard hand signals ramp personnel use at close range to direct vehicles and ground support equipment on the apron, including the signals used to coordinate a pushback. Marshalling trains the wand signals that guide an arriving aircraft onto its stand from a distance, where the marshaller is the flight crew's only visual reference. Most ground handlers need both, but they are separate roles and separate signal vocabularies.

No. Apart from one demonstration arrival that trainees observe, every lesson is hands-on. Trainees hold the wands and perform each signal themselves, and motion detection assesses arm position, wand orientation and the speed of the movement, coaching until the signal is clear. That is feedback a video cannot give.

Yes. Marshalling signals are traditionally taught from a chart in a classroom and then rehearsed on an empty stand. In VR the trainee performs each signal against live feedback and then applies it to a moving aircraft, which is the part a classroom cannot provide at all. That replaces most of the theory session and much of the supervised rehearsal.

A misread or mistimed marshalling signal can put an aircraft off the centerline, into an adjacent stand, or past its parking position, and the flight crew has no way to correct it. Practising complete arrivals, including the case where a vehicle crosses the aircraft's path, means trainees have already made and corrected those mistakes before they marshal a live aircraft. Stations get fewer stand incidents and a consistent marshalling standard across shifts.

Yes. Less than 3% of trainees report any symptoms. The trainee stands at the marshaller position throughout and the aircraft moves rather than the trainee, so there is very little of the self-motion that causes discomfort.

Yes. It is built as a complete path for someone new to the role: what marshalling is, then the signals, then supported arrivals with a demonstration before each signal, then unguided arrivals, and finally a scored assessment. A new marshaller can work through all of it before going near a live aircraft.

Yes, the course is developed in alignment with IATA AHM 1110 and IGOM guidelines. The signal set follows the standard marshalling signals defined in IGOM, and the arrival procedure covers the stand clearance check, guidance onto the stand centerline, and the securing sequence as IATA-compliant ramp operations describe them.

Yes, the training design is aligned with EASA safety principles. The stand clearance check before the aircraft arrives, the discipline of stopping an aircraft when its path is not clear, and the accurate parking that maintains clearance to buildings and adjacent stands all reflect the apron safety expectations EASA sets for ground handling.