How a little bit of rubbish can do a lot of damage on the runway: Why removing FOD (Foreign Object Debris) across the airfield is a top safety priority at Sydney Airport.

You might be surprised to learn that one of the most important safety jobs at Sydney Airport involves picking up rubbish.

From loose paper and plastic to pieces of metal and broken luggage, teams remove around 80 tonnes of debris from the airfield and put it into dedicated bins every month to help keep passengers, aircraft and workers safe.

At airports around the world, anything that doesn't belong on the airfield is known as Foreign Object Debris, or FOD. While these items might seem harmless, they can potentially damage aircraft engines, puncture tyres or become airborne in jet blast.

Safety is a team effort

As part of Airport Safety Month this October, employees from across Sydney Airport joined the Airfield Operations team for a FOD walk around the aircraft bays.

Armed with gloves and rubbish pickers, the volunteers helped collect debris and dispose of it in specially marked FOD bins positioned around the airfield aprons. Aprons are the areas beside the terminal where the aircraft park while passengers board and unload, and ground crews prepare the planes for their next flight. Among the items found were pieces of plastic, paper, metal and even a half-eaten sandwich.

Working around the clock

Sydney Airport's dedicated Airfield Operations team conducts multiple inspections of the airfield every day.

Our three runways are thoroughly inspected three times daily, while all 41 taxiways, 17 taxilanes and 130 bays are inspected twice a day and continuously monitored throughout the day.

A specialist sweeper truck operates from early morning until late evening, while additional inspections and weekly clean-ups help keep debris off the airfield.

"Most people would be surprised by the range of items we find on the airfield," said Jessica Simpson, Sydney Airport's General Manager of Safety and Wellbeing.

"Something as small as a loose bolt, a piece of plastic or even paper can pose a risk if it ends up in the wrong place, which is why we take such a proactive approach to finding and removing FOD."

Jessica said keeping the airfield safe is a shared responsibility:

"Our dedicated Airfield Operations team are out there every day, but we're supported by the thousands of people who work on the airfield and understand the importance of stopping to pick up debris if they see it."

"Those small actions help keep passengers, aircraft and our airport community safe.