A luggage tag or piece of rubbish doesn’t appear damaging by itself, but on an airport’s apron they can cause costly damage to airplane engines.
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Launceston Airport workers scoured its regular public transport apron on Wednesday in search of foreign object debris, or FOD, as part of an Airport Safety Week session. FOD, which can include stones, pieces of metal or plastic, and other items, risks entering engines and causing damage by blocking cooling systems, leading to overheating.
Airport manager of operations and compliance Peter Holmes said airline and airport staff cleared the apron of FOD routinely and that a vacuum sweeper cleaned the area at least twice a week.
“FOD is a pet hate of everyone in any airport,” he said.