Exterior Dry Wash at Payerne (Swiss Aeropole) (LSMP)

How does airside access work at Payerne for a third-party detailing crew?

Civil use of Payerne operates under a PPR regime managed by Swiss Aeropole through an online portal, and handling is mandatory. Speedwings Business SA is the sole handling agent present at the airport, operating from a purpose-built FBO inaugurated in 2019. All airside movement passes through their coordination desk, and any third-party service provider—including detailing crews—must be escorted and logged into the handler's daily schedule.

We coordinate arrival times directly with Speedwings operations at least 48 hours before the turnaround. The FBO's dedicated apron and direct ramp access mean the aircraft typically remains on stand throughout the wash, and we work within the handler's movement windows. Because the airfield is shared with F/A-18 squadrons, military activity can occasionally dictate apron timing; early confirmation and flexibility around the handler's instructions keep the operation smooth.

Our team arrives with all consumables, trolleys and lighting pre-staged in a van that parks adjacent to the stand. Speedwings staff verify credentials, issue the escort and confirm any restrictions—static ports, pitot covers, GPU hookup—before we begin. The entire dry-wash process generates no runoff, so there are no environmental-compliance delays and no need to reposition the aircraft to a wash pad that does not exist at this facility.

What changes at Payerne (Swiss Aeropole) compared to other Swiss fields?

Payerne sits at 1,460 feet elevation in the Swiss Plateau, roughly 30 kilometres north of Lausanne. The single runway—approximately 2.8 kilometres and shared with the military base—also serves industrial flight-testing by resident aerospace companies, so apron coordination is tighter than at a purely civil field. Speedwings Business SA manages the civil enclave with 6,600 square metres of heated hangar space, which means indoor detailing remains feasible even in January when overnight temperatures regularly drop below freezing.

The airport is not slot coordinated; Slot Coordination Switzerland covers only Geneva and Zurich. PPR approval through the Swiss Aeropole portal typically returns within a few hours during weekdays, but the mandatory-handling requirement means every movement is pre-scheduled and every service provider is logged. For dry wash, this discipline works in our favour: the handler knows exactly when we arrive, how long we need and where the aircraft will be during the clean.

Speedwings operates the FBO terminal with direct ramp access, so passengers and crew can remain in the lounge while we work on the apron. The facility's 1,240 square metres of office space and heated hangars make it straightforward to stage consumables indoors overnight if a morning departure requires an early start. Because the site doubles as an aerospace-industrial park, ground-power and compressed air are reliably available, and the handler is accustomed to coordinating multiple contractors around a single aircraft.

Why choose a waterless exterior clean at Payerne instead of waiting for a hub wash?

Payerne often appears in rotation schedules as a discreet overnight stop or a positioning leg before a longer European tour. Waiting until Geneva or Zurich means the aircraft accumulates another two to four sectors of bug strikes, exhaust soot and leading-edge grime—exactly the contamination that bakes onto paint in summer and traps de-icing fluid residue in winter. A dry wash here removes that film before it oxidises, preserving the single-stage polish underneath and keeping the cheat line bright.

The waterless process takes three to eight hours depending on airframe size, fitting neatly into an overnight or a same-day owner stop. Because no wash bay is required and no runoff is generated, we do not compete with line traffic for a dedicated pad, and the handler does not need to tow the aircraft off the apron. Speedwings coordinates the work as part of the turnaround checklist, the same way they would schedule catering or a tyre change.

For fleets operating regular European circuits, Payerne becomes a maintenance node rather than just a fuel stop. The heated hangars mean we can perform the wash indoors during cold snaps, and the FBO's direct ramp access means the aircraft is never out of the handler's sight. Chief pilots appreciate the documentation: we photograph leading edges, belly panels and nacelle inlets before and after, and the images go straight into the tech log as evidence of the cleaning cycle.

What does the dry-wash process include on a super-midsize jet at Payerne?

We begin with a walkaround alongside the handler's line-service technician, confirming that pitot covers are in place, static ports are flagged and any cold-soaked panels—particularly around avionics bays—are noted as no-touch zones. The aircraft remains on GPU throughout, so cabin climate stays stable and the flight deck is available if the crew wants to review the exterior-lighting check at the end.

The wash itself uses aviation-approved waterless emulsions applied in sections: fuselage crown and sides, wings upper and lower, empennage, nacelles and belly. Each panel is sprayed, allowed to dwell for 30 seconds to lift the film, then wiped with microfibre in overlapping passes. Bug residue on the leading edges and radome receives a dedicated bug-remover pre-treatment; exhaust carbon around the tail cone gets a heavier degreaser. We work from top to bottom so that loosened contaminant does not streak across clean paint.

Belly and landing-gear degreasing follows the same waterless method, using a trolley and inspection light to reach gear-bay edges and brake assemblies. Exterior windows—cockpit, cabin and door—are polished with a separate glass compound that leaves no haze. Brightwork on leading edges and nacelle lips receives a light touch-up if oxidation is visible, though we stop short of a full polish unless that is pre-arranged. The final step is a walk-around with the handler to confirm that no panels, antennas or access doors have been disturbed, and we remove all masking and protective covers before signing off in the tech log.

How does winter weather at Payerne affect the exterior dry wash?

Payerne's elevation and inland location mean winter nights are cold—often well below zero—and morning frost on the airframe is routine from December through February. If the aircraft has been on the apron overnight, we wait for the handler to apply Type I fluid or for the sun to lift the frost naturally before starting the wash; spraying waterless product onto frozen surfaces achieves nothing and risks streaking once the ice melts.

The advantage of Speedwings' heated hangars is that we can pull the aircraft indoors, let the airframe warm to ambient over an hour, then complete the dry wash in a controlled environment. The 6,600 square metres of hangar space means even an ultra-long-range airframe fits comfortably, and the handler schedules hangar time as part of the PPR request if we flag it during coordination. Indoor work eliminates wind, which otherwise blows overspray onto just-cleaned panels, and it means we can clean the belly without lying on frozen concrete.

De-icing fluid residue—particularly Type IV—leaves a polymer film that dry wash removes effectively, but only after the aircraft has been clear of holdover for at least two hours. We coordinate timing with the handler so that if a departure requires another de-icing application, we complete the wash well in advance and avoid rework. Speedwings operations staff are accustomed to this choreography; they manage it the same way they sequence fuelling and catering around ice-protection windows.

What do handlers at Payerne expect from a detailing crew on the apron?

Speedwings runs a disciplined operation: every person on the apron is accounted for, every vehicle is logged and every task is time-blocked in the daily movement sheet. They expect our crew to arrive at the agreed time with all equipment in one vehicle, check in at the FBO desk, wait for the escort and follow the handler's instructions about where to park and which stand to approach. Any deviation—early arrival, extra personnel, requests to move the aircraft—requires a call to the operations desk, not a conversation with the line technician.

During the wash, the handler expects us to stay within the marked stand boundary, avoid contact with pitot tubes and static ports, and notify them immediately if we discover fluid leaks, loose panels or any other defect. Because the airfield is shared with military fast jets, FOD discipline is non-negotiable: every wipe, spray bottle and microfibre cloth is accounted for before we leave the stand, and we police the area for any dropped items. Speedwings staff conduct a final walk-around with us, countersign the tech-log entry and confirm that the aircraft is ready for the next departure.

The handler also expects transparency about duration. If we estimate six hours and the airframe turns out to need eight because of heavy belly contamination, we inform the desk as soon as we know, so they can adjust the departure slot or hangar schedule. That communication is easier at Payerne than at a busy hub because Speedwings coordinates all services in-house; there is no third-party ground-handling contract and no language barrier. The result is a predictable, low-drama turnaround that chief pilots and flight-department managers appreciate when they review the trip log.