Job Title: Airport Operations Senior Engineer
Company: Airbus
Location: Toulouse, France
Years of Experience in Ground Support: 20
Years with Current Company: 20
Industry committees, associations and working groups served on:
SAE AGE-3 Aircraft Ground Support Equipment Committee. Participant since 2008; Chair 2011-2020
SAE G-12 Aircraft Ground De-icing. Participant since 2012
ISO TC 20/SC 9 – Air Cargo and Ground Equipment. Chair since 2019. Participant since 2008
BNAE – Commission Fret et matériels aéroportuaires. Chair since 2019. Participant since 2008.
CEN TC 274. Aircraft Ground Support Equipment. Participant since 2008. Head of French delegation since 2019.
IATA GSEE – Ground Support Equipment and Environment, Participant 2013-2019
ICAO – International Civil Aviation Organization. Aerodromes Design and Operations Panel - Advisor for ICCAIA since 2021
Ground Support Worldwide: What attracted you to a career in the ground support industry?
Diego Alonso Tabares: The A380. I had the unique opportunity to participate on the entry into service of this aircraft. I worked together with airlines, airports, ground handlers and ground support equipment manufacturers to have everything ready for a smooth turnaround time.
GSW: What has kept you engaged in the industry?
DAT: The development potential, there are so many things to change and improve. The possibility to learn new things everyday.
GSW: What’s the best advice you’ve been given while working in this field?
DAT: Whatever you make or develop in the ramp, make it bullet proof. (from Bernhard Scholz at Fraport)
GSW: How have you seen the ground support industry change the most during your career?
DAT: Low cost race to the bottom, although now it looks it has hit the ground.
GSW: What’s the next big thing coming to the ground support industry?
DAT: Full automation of GSE around the aircraft and at the airport.
GSW: What type of an impact will it make?
DAT: We don’t have enough people to work on the ramp. If we want to sustain existing traffic or grow it, we need to automate tasks and make the ramp a better working environment.
GSW: What would you say to encourage someone to join the ground support industry?
DAT: It is worth to try, [and is] a very good place to get to learn how the air transport works.
GSW: Any final thoughts?
DAT: There is no flight without ground support and there have been plenty of examples last year to illustrate this. The air transport industry needs to recognize the importance of ground support in the overall system. And the first step is to acknowledge it ourselves as ground support people.
