Medium Large Transport; Low Wing; 2 Turbojet Eng
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Confusion; Communication Breakdown; Situational Awareness
ATC Issue All Types; Conflict Ground Conflict; Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Airport; Human Factors
Landed on 36R. There was an unusually long taxi due to VIP movement. Taxi to our gate took 1 hr. We were taxiing up runway 5. We were told to taxi; hold short; taxi hold short. Finally told to taxi and hold short of Golf. We were then told to Taxi to Charlie and contact ramp. We were told to 'Hustle' as traffic was landing on 36R. We told ground we were moving. Upon approaching Charlie 10 I called ramp and told them we were approaching charlie 10. No reply. Upon arriving at Charlie 10; I called and said we were at charlie 10; no reply. I called a third time at charlie 10. Ramp contacted us and told us to hold short of the ramp. Aircraft Y landed on 36R and pulled in behind us. The captain then called and said we were blocking traffic and could we pull forward to give them room. We were told we couldn't although space was available for us to enter. We sat there a moment. Then Aircraft Y called and asked if we could pull forward. It was then [that] ramp mentioned we were in the wrong spot. After we had contacted them 3 times; ramp had talked to us 2 times; we requested to move up and Aircraft Y requested could we move up. As a result an aircraft had to go around because Aircraft Y could not cross the hold short line.All controllers (Tower/Ramp/Ground) were extremely busy because of stoppage due to presidential movement. When we were holding short of Golf on RWY 5 we were told to 'hustle' to get to the ramp. We were then told to contact ramp. We switched to ramp; and contacted them several times. He was busy and missed our call several times; and when he finally contacted us we were told to hold short of the ramp. With the new ramp structure there are several frequency. A contributing factor is often these frequencies are not specified in taxi instructions. Charlie 10 has one frequency; while Charlie 11 and 12 have another. Had we been told which frequency to use; it would have helped us make sure we were talking to the right person. Better clarifications of the next ramp frequency to be used. Specifically during this transition time as we are all learning the new spots and frequencies.
Long taxi-in due to VIP movement which led to nonstandard operations. Taxi lasted approximately 1 hour. RWY 5 was used to taxi aircraft to the east side of the airport. Ground was saturated with taxing aircraft and frequency was congested. Our taxi route once we crossed 36C was Echo/ RWY 5 and hold short of Golf. Our Clearance from that point was to taxi Charlie into the Ramp and to 'Hustle' due to landing traffic. After those instructions I taxied in the safest possible taxi speed and instructed First Officer to contact ground to clarify we were turning into C10. There was no response from Ground and we contacted Ramp control. Once we contacted Ramp 3 times we finally received acknowledgement and were instructed to hold short of Ramp. An aircraft then landed 36R and taxied to C10 to expedite his Taxi into the Ramp. I contacted Ramp and informed him that Charlie taxiway would be blocked if we weren't allowed to taxi into the open Ramp. He seemed confused at what was happening and told us to hold. As a result an aircraft that was in position on 36R did not takeoff and subsequently an aircraft went around. It was discovered by me prior to the event happening. I contacted Ramp with enough notice; however he was agitated; overloaded; and refused to recognize what I was explaining and instructed us to Hold. As an instructor I am adamant and vigilant with all instructions and clearances received from ATC and Ramp Operations.Event occurred due to nonstandard operations; poor communication; and poor guidelines for moving aircraft in and out of the Ramp. I understood the instructions from Ground Control as; 'taxi to C10' Break 'Hustle for me due to landing traffic'. I then taxied at a safe speed to C10 and attempted to clarify the rushed clearance which resulted in no response. No aircraft should have to 'Hustle' into congested taxiways or ramp areas. Once the event was identified we taxied to an area on the ramp that had been open the entire time.I believe better procedures need to be implemented on that part of the airport with the growing operation. It appears to me that Charlie taxiway is being used as a means to flow aircraft in and out of the congested Ramp. I am continuously hearing the word 'Hustle' or 'expedite' to make spacing work. I would be happy to discuss this matter further.
After landing on Runway 36R at CLT; a Regional Jet flight crew experiences a very convoluted taxi lasting over one hour due to VIP movement. Entering the ramp at C10 the crew is unable to get clearance in; resulting in a landing aircraft on 36R not being able to clear and another aircraft going-around. New ramp control frequencies may have confused the crew.