Aircraft Detailing at Sion (LSGS)

What changes at Sion?

Sion operates a single 2,000-metre paved runway (07/25) at 1,582 feet elevation in the Rhone Valley; IFR approaches use an IGS and RNP procedures, and the airport runs a dedicated pilot qualification for those approaches. The aerodrome administration is open April to September from 05:00 Zulu to the end of daylight (maximum 18:00 Zulu), and October to March from 07:00 Zulu to end of daylight (maximum 19:00 Zulu). Night operations are prohibited: the field closes at the end of daylight, and flights outside administration hours require special permission and services are on request. The FBOs—Signature Flight Support and Alpinejet Handling—staff their terminals 07:00–20:00 local in summer and 08:00 to nightfall in winter, so the working day compresses significantly in the colder months.

Hangar space is available for visiting aircraft up to 77,000 kilograms (A320 type); Signature operates a 67,200-square-foot hangar and Alpinejet offers hangar storage. That shelter matters for detailing work: Alpine weather can shift quickly, and a hangar lets us complete a full interior detail or apply a ceramic coating without interruption. Customs and immigration are on site during aerodrome hours; airside ramp access is controlled with 24-hour surveillance, and airport ID cards require a police record extract. We hold current airside passes and coordinate access through the handling agent on your flight.

Which detailing services make sense during a Sion turnaround?

Quick turns dominate the winter schedule here. Your passengers disembark for the drive to the resort, and you have three to five hours before positioning empty or collecting another group. We use that window for a cabin reset: vacuum and wipe all seats, clean the galley and lavatory to catering standard, polish interior windows and mirrors, empty bins and restock disposables. The cabin is flight-ready when your handler calls for departure clearance, and the crew receives a short photo report by email before engine start.

Exterior dry wash works within the same span if the aircraft is cold-soaked and the apron is clear. We treat the fuselage, wings, nacelles and tail with waterless polymer emulsions that lift road salt, de-icing residue and exhaust staining without introducing liquid runoff—important at an airport where water-discharge rules and frozen aprons can complicate a traditional wash. Leading edges and belly panels come cleaner than they arrived, and any paint defects or corrosion spots are noted in the report.

Full interior details and brightwork polish need longer access, so we schedule those during overnight stops or when the aircraft will sit for a day or more. A complete detail—exterior, paint decon, polish, brightwork, deep cabin clean and disinfection—typically spans eight to twelve hours and is easiest inside a hangar, where we control temperature and lighting and the aircraft is not subject to slot pressure.

How do Alpine conditions affect paint and cabin materials?

The Rhone Valley winter brings dry cold, occasional snowfall and regular use of Type I and Type IV de-icing fluids. Glycol residue clings to the belly, gear bays and lower fuselage; if it is not removed within a few flights, it bakes onto paint in spring sunshine and creates a haze that simple rinseless wash will not shift. We decontaminate with a clay-bar process after the initial wash, then follow with a single-stage polish to restore gloss. The result is a surface that sheds water and makes the next wash faster.

Inside the cabin, low humidity and temperature swings between cold soaks and APU or GPU heating dry out leather and veneer. We condition all leather panels with pH-neutral cleaners and a light conditioner that replaces oils without leaving a greasy film; wood veneer receives a separate cleaner and a carnauba protectant. Carpets collect salt and grit tracked in from the apron or the passenger steps; we lift them when possible, vacuum the subfloor, then steam-clean and extract the carpet fibres. Sidewalls and PSU shrouds are wiped with microfibre and an anti-static solution that reduces dust adhesion on the next sector.

What does the documentation look like?

Every service closes with a written report and time-stamped photographs. For a quick turn, you receive a short summary—cabin tasks completed, exterior panel condition, any deferred items—and four to six images showing galley, lavatory, cabin overview and a fuselage shot. Full interior details generate a longer report: each zone (cockpit, forward cabin, mid-cabin, aft cabin, lavatory, galley) is documented with before-and-after pairs, notes on stain removal or conditioning, and a list of materials used. If we find a cracked lens, a loose seat fitting or a sidewall panel that has debonded, it goes into the report with a photograph and a suggested remedy.

Exterior work includes a walk-around log: we note paint chips, corrosion bloom, sealant shrinkage, leading-edge dings and any fluid leaks or streaks that suggest a maintenance look is warranted. None of this replaces a tech-log entry, but it gives the captain and the maintenance controller a visual record between scheduled inspections. The report is emailed as a PDF within two hours of job completion, and we keep a copy on file for twelve months in case the flight department needs it for audit or insurance purposes.

How do you handle airside access and logistics at Sion?

We coordinate with the handling agent named on your flight plan—Signature or Alpinejet—at least 24 hours before the scheduled arrival. The handler confirms stand assignment, GPU availability and whether hangar space is required; we provide our airside-pass details and vehicle registration, and the handler arranges escort if our pass category requires it. On the day, we meet the aircraft on stand as soon as the chocks are in and the handler has cleared us onto the ramp.

All tools, materials and lighting travel in our van; we do not rely on FBO supplies beyond GPU and, occasionally, a water tap for bucket fills when a rinseless wash is not appropriate. If the work moves into a hangar, we bring our own vacuum, steam cleaner and polishing equipment. The handler is notified when we finish, so they can complete their departure checks without waiting. For fleet customers with multiple visits each season, we store a set of aircraft-specific materials—cabin-interior cleaner matched to the OEM spec, leather conditioner in the correct tint, pre-cut microfibre cloths—so every visit is consistent and the crew sees the same result each time.

Why does Sion see so much ski-season traffic?

The airport lies 2.5 kilometres from Sion city centre and serves as the closest business-aviation gateway to the Valais resorts: Crans-Montana, Verbier, Nendaz, Veysonnaz, Zermatt and Saas-Fee. Charter operators run shuttle patterns throughout January, February and March, often with back-to-back legs that leave little room for anything beyond a quick turn. Flight departments with regular Sion stops build a monthly or seasonal detailing schedule—quick turns after every other visit, a full interior mid-season, brightwork and exterior polish at the end of March before the aircraft returns to its home base.

Summer traffic is lighter and more varied: corporate point-to-point flights, positioning legs, occasional leisure charters to the Alpine hiking season. The longer daylight window (aerodrome open until 18:00 Zulu) and the FBOs' extended hours (07:00–20:00 local) create space for deeper work—complete details, ceramic-coating application, fleet-care catch-up visits. We adjust our own schedule to match the seasonal rhythm, adding capacity in winter and using the quieter months for training and equipment refresh.