Aircraft Detailing at Palermo Falcone e Borsellino (LICJ)

What changes at Palermo Falcone e Borsellino?

The airport sits at 65 feet elevation on the coast at Punta Raisi, 35 kilometres west-north-west of Palermo city centre. Two runways serve the field—07/25 at 3,326 metres and 02/20 at 2,068 metres—with the primary 07/25 measuring 60 metres wide and carrying displaced thresholds at both ends. GES.A.P. S.p.A. manages the airport, and handling agents present at the airport co-ordinate ramp access and GPU supply.

That coastal location means salt, humidity and UV exposure accumulate quickly on paint and brightwork. If your aircraft sits on stand for more than a day, you will see a visible film by the time you return. The long transfer from the city also shapes our logistics: technicians and equipment stage at the airport rather than drive from Palermo for each job, so last-minute slots are easier to accommodate than at inland fields where the team must cross traffic.

Because the airport handles a mix of scheduled passenger traffic and seasonal charter peaks, apron space and handler schedules can tighten during summer months. Early PPR and a confirmed stand assignment let us position kit and start work the moment you block in, turning a three-hour interior detail into a true quick turn rather than a wait for clearance.

How does the dry wash work at a coastal airport?

We use aviation-approved waterless products that lift salt, dust and exhaust residue without a drop of rinse water. The process begins at the nose, working aft in overlapping panels: spray a light mist, let the surfactants break the bond between contaminant and clear coat, then wipe with a clean microfibre in straight strokes. A second microfibre buffs to a streak-free finish. Belly panels, nacelles and the underside of horizontal stabilisers receive the same attention, because salt creeps into every crevice when the aircraft is parked near the sea.

At Palermo the coastal air means we often add a decontamination step—clay or chemical—to pull embedded iron and salt crystals from the paint before the final polish. Skipping that step leaves a rough surface that collects dirt faster on the next leg. Leading edges, winglets and the cheat line get a single-stage polish by hand to restore gloss, and all brightwork is wiped down with a separate compound to prevent cross-contamination between aluminium and painted surfaces.

A dry wash takes between ninety minutes and two and a half hours, depending on aircraft size and the state of the paint. We photograph the nose, both sides, tail and any blemish we find, then send the report to the tech log email before you leave the apron.

What does a full interior detail include between charter legs?

Every seat comes out if the rails allow it; if they are fixed, we work around them with extension tools and a headlamp. Leather is cleaned with a pH-neutral foam, then conditioned with a water-based emulsion that does not leave a greasy film on armrests or headrests. Carpet is vacuumed edge to edge, pre-treated for stains, hot-water extracted and dried with blowers so it is walk-ready within the weather-dependent window. Veneer, sidewalls and overhead bins are wiped with a damp microfibre and a gentle cleaner that will not cloud the finish or leave streaks under cabin LED lighting.

The galley is stripped: every drawer, every insert, every drip tray. We scrub stainless steel to remove coffee tannin and water spots, polish the counter, and clean the oven and espresso machine externally—no disassembly of sealed components. The lavatory is disinfected from ceiling to floor, the mirror polished, the sink and toilet bowl scrubbed, and all chrome brightwork buffed. We restock consumables only if you provide them; otherwise we note quantities in the report.

Carpet-drying time is the longest variable. In summer at Palermo, with low humidity and warm apron temperatures, carpets are dry in under an hour. In winter or after a cold-soaked arrival, we may need two hours and forced air. We schedule around that reality so the cabin is never damp when passengers board.

How do you co-ordinate airside access and handler schedules?

We hold permanent airside passes for LICJ, so the handler does not need to escort our team once we are through the gate. You or your handler send us the stand assignment, the block-in time and the departure slot; we confirm the scope—quick turn, dry wash, full interior or a combination—and mobilise kit to the apron thirty minutes before you land. If the slot moves, we adjust. If you go AOG, we pause the clock and resume when you have an engine-start estimate.

Because Palermo sits 35 kilometres from the city, our team and equipment stage at the airport rather than travel from a workshop in town. That proximity means a call at ten in the morning can become a completed detail by mid-afternoon, assuming the handler has cleared us onto the ramp and the aircraft is not waiting for fuel or catering trucks to clear the stand.

We photograph every stage—arrival condition, work in progress, final result—and compile a PDF report with time stamps, products used, and any paint chips, scratches or worn cabin materials we spot. That report goes to the email address in your original request, usually before you file the flight plan for the next leg.

Why does Mediterranean weather demand more frequent paint care?

Salt does not simply sit on the surface; it pulls moisture from the air and creates a micro-environment that accelerates oxidation and etches clear coat. UV radiation at sea level in southern Italy is strong enough to fade un-protected paint in a single season, and the combination of salt and UV breaks down wax and sealant faster than at inland or northern European fields. If your aircraft spends a week on the ramp at Palermo without a wash, you will see a chalky haze on dark colours and white streaks on the belly from dried salt spray.

We recommend a dry wash after every second or third leg into coastal airports, and a full decontamination and polish every twelve weeks if the aircraft is based here or flies a Mediterranean circuit. Brightwork—especially leading edges and nacelle lips—shows corrosion pitting within months if left bare, so we include a metal polish and a hydrophobic sealant in every complete detail. That sealant buys you another four to six weeks before the next service, depending on how much time the aircraft spends on the ground versus in flight.

What is the turnaround time for a complete detail at Palermo?

A complete detail combines exterior wash, paint decontamination, single-stage polish, brightwork polish, full interior deep-clean and cabin disinfection. For a super-midsize jet the process takes between six and eight hours; for an ultra-long-range aircraft with a large cabin and complex galley, expect ten to twelve hours. We can split the work across two days if your schedule allows an overnight, doing the exterior on day one and the interior on day two, or we can run a double shift if you need the aircraft back on the same calendar day.

Ceramic coating adds another four to six hours because the paint must be corrected to remove swirls and oxidation, then wiped with isopropyl alcohol before the coating is applied in a controlled environment. At Palermo we use a mobile clean-tent if the apron is dusty or if wind is forecast, ensuring no particulate lands in the wet ceramic layer. The coating cures under infrared lamps for two hours, and the aircraft must remain dry for twelve hours after application—easy to guarantee in summer, harder in winter if rain is in the forecast.

We schedule every complete detail and ceramic job at least seventy-two hours in advance so the handler can block the stand, and we ask for a four-hour buffer on either side of your departure slot in case we find paint damage that needs a second correction pass.