Complete Detail at Sion (LSGS)

Why schedule a complete detail at an Alpine airport?

Sion sits at 1,582 feet in the Rhône Valley, flanked by peaks that funnel weather and compress the working day. Operators stage here for Crans-Montana, Zermatt, Verbier and the other Valais resorts, so winter traffic is heavy and the aircraft spend days—sometimes weeks—on cold-soaked ramps while principals ski. That combination of altitude, temperature swing and static exposure leaves paint dull, brightwork tarnished and cabins tracked with salt and grit.

A complete detail reverses twelve months of wear in one visit. We decontaminate the paint to lift embedded contamination, single-stage polish to restore gloss, bring back the nacelle and gear-door brightwork, then move inside for a full strip-and-dress of the cabin and a disinfection pass over every high-touch surface. You leave with an aircraft that photographs well and smells clean—exactly what a pre-buy inspector or a charter client expects. The valley location also means we can coordinate the work between ski-season legs without repositioning the jet to a coastal base.

What changes at Sion?

The aerodrome operates daylight-only: administration hours run 05:00Z to end of daylight—maximum 18:00Z—April through September, and 07:00Z to end of daylight—maximum 19:00Z—October through March. Night operations are prohibited. The two handling agents present at the airport, Signature Flight Support and Alpinejet Handling, staff their terminals 07:00 to 20:00 local in summer and 08:00 to nightfall in winter, so any movement outside those windows needs prior permission and services are on request.

Runway 07/25 is 2,000 metres of asphalt; a 660-metre grass strip runs parallel but is irrelevant to business jets. Hangar space is plentiful: the airport lists capacity for aircraft up to 77,000 kilograms, Signature operates a 67,200-square-foot hangar, and Alpinejet offers storage. We prefer to detail inside when the forecast calls for snow or the cold soak threatens to freeze rinseless product on the fuselage. Customs and immigration are on site during administration hours; airside ramp access is controlled and requires an airport ID card backed by a police record extract, so we maintain standing credentials.

The winter ski season compresses every timeline. FBO hours shorten, daylight ends early, and the apron fills with transient aircraft. If you want a complete detail in January or February, book the slot and the hangar space together at least two weeks ahead; in summer the pressure eases and we can often start within three days of the request.

How long does a complete detail take at Sion?

Two to five days, depending on the size of the aircraft, the condition of the paint and whether we work inside or on the ramp. A super-midsize jet with reasonably maintained paint will occupy us for two full days; an ultra-long-range airframe that has spent a season shuttling between Sion and the North Sea without a proper wash can stretch to five. The decontamination pass—clay bar or chemical decon, depending on what the paint tells us—takes the longest, because we will not move to the polish stage until every panel is clean at the microscopic level.

We start with the exterior: dry wash, decon, single-stage polish, brightwork restoration. Once the outside is sealed and the cheat line gleams, we move into the cabin for the full interior detail—vacuum, leather conditioning, galley and lav deep-clean, carpet extraction if the client approves it—then finish with disinfection of the flight deck and cabin. The photographic report goes to the chief pilot or the broker the same day we sign the tech log. If the aircraft is due for a pre-buy inspection or a delivery flight, we time the handover so the jet can depart within the aerodrome's daylight window.

What does decontamination and polish actually do?

Paint decontamination removes everything a wash cannot: brake dust sintered into the belly, insect proteins on the leading edges, fuel stains around the filler necks, tree sap if the aircraft has sat under cover at a grass strip, and the fine layer of industrial fallout that settles on any jet parked outdoors for more than a week. We use a clay bar or a chemical decon depending on the paint system and the level of contamination; the goal is a molecularly clean surface that feels like glass under a gloved hand.

The single-stage polish follows immediately. We work panel by panel with a rotary and a finishing compound that cuts lightly and leaves gloss, not haze. The polish fills micro-scratches, evens the reflection and preps the paint for a synthetic sealant that will shed water for three to six months. Brightwork—nacelle lips, gear doors, windscreen surrounds—gets its own treatment: metal polish and a microfibre buff, then a wipe with a hydrophobic agent so the next rain beads instead of streaking. The result is an aircraft that looks correct in photographs and does not embarrass the flight department when the principal walks across the ramp with a prospective buyer.

Can you detail between ski-season legs at Sion?

Yes, and we do it often. The Valais winter season runs December through March, with peaks around Christmas, New Year and February half-term. Operators fly in Friday evening, the principal skis Saturday and Sunday, and the aircraft departs Monday morning for Geneva, Zurich or back to home base. That 48-hour window is too short for a complete detail, but the gaps between trips—especially in January—stretch to five or seven days, and that is enough if we have hangar space and a firm departure slot.

We coordinate directly with the handler and the flight-department scheduler. If the aircraft will sit at Sion from Monday afternoon to the following Sunday morning, we can start the exterior work Tuesday at first light, finish the cabin by Thursday evening, and leave Friday and Saturday as buffer in case weather or a parts delay pushes the schedule. The photographic report goes to the chief pilot Friday night, and the jet is ready for its pre-flight inspection Sunday at 08:00 local. The key is locking in the hangar and confirming the departure slot before we mobilise; Sion is busy in winter, and a missed slot means the aircraft stays another day or repositions without the detail finished.

What happens if the aircraft is AOG or the weather closes the valley?

We pause the work and adjust the timeline. Sion's Alpine location means weather can shut the field with little notice: cloud bases drop into the valley floor, crosswinds exceed limits on runway 07/25, or snowfall closes the apron until the ploughs finish. The instrument approaches rely on an IGS and RNP procedures, and the airport runs a dedicated pilot qualification for IFR work, but if the cloud is below minimums the aircraft does not move regardless of the detail schedule.

If the jet goes AOG—a generator fault, a hydraulic leak, a software flag that grounds the aircraft until a tech flies in from the OEM—we stop polishing, cover the work we have completed, and wait. The cabin stays sealed so dust and hangar air do not undo the interior detail. Once the aircraft is released and the new departure slot is confirmed, we resume exactly where we left off. The photographic report notes any delay and the reason for it, so the client understands why a three-day detail stretched to five. We do not charge for weather days or AOG days; you pay for the work we complete, not the days the aircraft sat waiting for a part or a clearance.