Exterior Dry Wash at Memmingen (Allgäu Airport) (EDJA)

Why does dry wash make sense at a regional airport like Memmingen?

Memmingen has no dedicated wash bay for transient business aircraft, and the airport's own handling subsidiary focuses on scheduled airline work. A dry-wash crew eliminates the need to tow the aircraft to a remote stand with water supply or to negotiate environmental permits for runoff. We work where the handler parks you—typically the southern general-aviation apron opposite the passenger terminal—and carry our own product, microfibre and waste disposal.

The waterless chemistry lifts contaminants into an emulsion that wipes away, so there is no overspray drifting onto neighbouring stands and no grey-water pooling under the belly. That matters on a shared apron where airline narrowbodies and business jets sit side by side. The method also suits cold mornings in the Allgäu foothills: when temperatures hover near freezing, wet washing risks ice forming on control surfaces or pooling in gear bays, but dry wash leaves only a thin film of protectant that flash-dries in minutes.

What changes at Memmingen (Allgäu Airport) for exterior cleaning?

Memmingen sits at 633 metres elevation—2,077 feet—in the Bavarian foothills, making it one of Germany's highest commercial airports. Winter arrives early and lingers: from November through March the apron sees regular frost, and de-icing season stretches longer than at low-lying fields. Cold-soaked fuel tanks and frozen leading edges are routine, so we time exterior work for midday when surface temperatures climb above the dew point and any residual moisture from a previous de-icing event has evaporated.

The airport operates 06:00 to 22:00 local, with a single-hour PPR extension to 23:00 for delayed inbounds. That sixteen-hour window is tight if you arrive late morning and need the aircraft clean for an early evening departure; we schedule around your slot and coordinate with ALLgate to ensure the crew is airside before you block in. The single runway—06/24, 2,630 metres—handles a mix of low-cost airline traffic and general aviation, so apron congestion peaks mid-morning and late afternoon. An overnight stop gives us the full daytime span to work without rushing between pushbacks.

There is no separate FBO terminal; business-aviation passengers are driven directly to the aircraft via Gate 1 of the main terminal, and the general-aviation apron lies on the southern side of the runway. ALLgate manages all ground handling, fuelling and airside access, so our team checks in with their duty supervisor and follows the airport's contractor-escort procedures. Customs and border control are on site, arranged through flight operations when you file, which keeps the process straightforward for Schengen and third-country arrivals alike.

How long does a dry wash take, and can it fit between legs?

A light-cabin super-midsize—Challenger 350, Praetor 600—takes three to four hours if the paint is in good condition and the belly is only lightly soiled. An ultra-long-range airframe with a tall T-tail and complex nacelle geometry—Global 7500, Falcon 8X—stretches the timeline to seven or eight hours, especially if we are degreasing the gear bays and polishing brightwork on the wing leading edges. We quote duration after seeing photographs or a walk-around, because every aircraft arrives with a different soil load.

Same-day turnarounds are possible if the block time on the ground exceeds five hours and the apron is not crowded. More often, operators schedule dry wash during an overnight stop: the aircraft blocks in before the 22:00 curfew, we start at first light, and the jet is clean for a mid-morning departure. That rhythm avoids time pressure and lets the protective polymer cure fully before the next flight. If you are positioning into Memmingen for scheduled maintenance at a nearby shop, the wash can happen while the engineers pull inspection panels, so no extra day is lost.

What does the dry-wash process remove, and what does it leave behind?

The waterless emulsion is designed for aviation paint systems: it lifts bug protein, jet-fuel residue, hydraulic mist and light exhaust carbon without abrading the clearcoat. We start at the nose, working aft in overlapping passes, and pay close attention to the belly, where oil weeps from bleed-air vents and APU exhausts bake soot onto the skin. Leading edges get a separate product if bug strikes have hardened, and the landing gear receives a citrus-based degreaser that cuts through brake dust and runway de-icer without attacking seals or composites.

Exterior windows—cockpit, cabin, emergency exits—are cleaned with a separate no-streak formula that is safe for anti-ice coatings and polycarbonate panes. Navigation lights, strobes and the belly beacon are wiped down so they pass the pre-flight walk-around. The final step is a light buffing pass over the fuselage to even out the protectant layer, which leaves a hydrophobic finish that sheds rain and delays the next accumulation of grime. We do not compound or polish paint during a dry wash—that is a separate detailing service—but we will touch up brightwork on nacelle lips and winglet leading edges if oxidation is light.

How do you coordinate with ALLgate and the airport for airside access?

ALLgate is Memmingen's wholly owned handling subsidiary, responsible for passenger services, fuelling, aircraft movements and contractor escorts on the apron. We notify them at least twenty-four hours before the scheduled wash, providing the registration, stand assignment and estimated start time. Their duty supervisor issues an airside pass for our crew and, if required, arranges an escort to the aircraft. Because Memmingen is a Level 2 schedules-facilitated airport, stand assignments are usually confirmed a few hours before arrival, so we stay flexible and bring all equipment in a van that can reposition quickly.

The airport's operating hours—06:00 to 22:00 local, with PPR to 23:00—set the boundaries for any exterior work. If your inbound lands at 21:30 under the PPR window, we cannot start that evening; the wash begins at 06:00 the next morning. Conversely, if you block in at 08:00 and depart at 14:00, we compress the process and focus on the most visible areas—fuselage sides, nacelles, cockpit glass—accepting that the belly may receive only a quick wipe rather than a full degrease. Clear communication with your handler and with us ensures everyone understands the time available and the expected result.

How often should an aircraft receive a dry wash, and when does it make sense here?

We recommend dry wash every two to four weeks for aircraft in regular service, depending on utilisation and the routes flown. If the jet spends time at coastal airports—salt spray—or fields with active agriculture nearby—insect pressure in summer—the interval shortens. Memmingen's elevation and cold-season de-icing also accelerate grime build-up: Type I and Type IV fluids leave a sticky residue on the belly and lower fuselage, and winter road salt tracked onto the apron by ground vehicles adds chloride contamination that should be removed promptly.

Dry wash at Memmingen makes particular sense when the aircraft is already scheduled for a crew change, a maintenance input or a passenger pickup that involves a longer ground stop. It also suits fleets that rotate through southern Germany regularly—Munich is seventy miles east, Friedrichshafen thirty miles south—because you can fold the cleaning into the operational rhythm without a dedicated ferry. For one-off visits, the service is worth considering if the aircraft will next fly to a high-profile destination or if the paint has not been cleaned in a month and the owner will see the jet on the ramp.