How is the aircraft apron supposed to be maintained.?

Question

What is the best way to keep the aircraft apron clean. In short how should it be maintained? What should not be done on it

Answer 1

Keep it swept, so that debris is not thrown around by prop wash.

Answer 2

I've been responsible (in part) for the concrete apron at terminal 4 heathrow.

Debris upon the trafficking area can be hazardous as demonstrated by the ill fated Concorde flight when the fuel tanks had been punctured by a metal component dropped by a previous aircraft.

Answer 3

There are a variety of sweepers available, from self-contained, self-propelled units to ones that are towed behind other vehicles (tugs, etc.).  Mostly this is a function of the size of the apron and how much money the organization that's responsible for the maintenance has to spend.

It is critical to keep it clear of debris, not just in cases like the Concorde, but even small pea-sized gravel (or leftover hardware from maintenance) can tear up propellers and turbine engines.

You can do pretty much anything on them, but tearing down and scrapping large airplanes usually ends up putting big divots in the pavement.