The last hundred metres:
airport handovers done right.

Industries · 1 July 2026

Where handovers actually happen

"Deliver to the airport" is never the whole instruction. Depending on the operator and the airport, an AOG part might be received at a maintenance hangar with its own gate, a cargo shed or handling agent's facility, an FBO for business aviation, or a landside office where an engineer meets the driver.

Each of those points has its own access rules, opening arrangements and paperwork. The difference between a clean handover and a part sitting in a van outside a locked gate is knowing which applies before the vehicle arrives.

Landside and airside

Most AOG deliveries are landside: the driver hands over to the operator's engineer, handling agent or stores team at a facility on the public side of the security line, and the receiving party takes the part airside through their own controls.

Where a consignment must go further, it moves under the receiving organisation's arrangements — escorted access, known-consignor processes or the handling agent's own airside operation. A responsible courier plans to the correct handover point and never improvises at the fence.

Paperwork that travels with the part

Aerospace parts move with their documentation or they do not move at all. Release certificates, delivery notes and any customs paperwork stay with the consignment, and the signature captured at handover should name the person, the organisation and the time.

Good AOG desks confirm the reference the receiving team expects to hear — an AOG or works-order number quoted at the gate gets a driver to the right hands in minutes.

Making your next AOG run clean

When booking, tell the desk three things: exactly where the part is released, the precise receiving point at the airport, and the reference the engineer will recognise. With those, a dedicated driver can run supplier-to-stand without a wasted minute — which is the whole point. Our AOG courier service covers every UK airport, 24/7.

Related