Commercial Fixed Wing
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Communication Breakdown; Situational Awareness
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Passenger Misconduct; Ground Event / Encounter Ground Equipment Issue
Flight Crew Returned To Gate; General Flight Cancelled / Delayed
Equipment / Tooling; Procedure
I had a disruptive passenger on board and needed to communicate with the station to coordinate the removal of the passenger. We called for the station several times to inform them we would be returning to the ramp. After several attempts we did not have any answer. After we got parked on the ramp a few agents came out to the airplane looking confused on why we returned back to the ramp. We again tried reaching the station on the published frequency. After several attempts we were still unable to communicate with them. As a last resort I typed on my iPad and held it up to the window to communicate with them that we needed stairs and a supervisor. Once the supervisor was on board and the situation was under control. I asked if they monitor the ops frequency. The supervisor told me the radio only works sometimes. This is a safety concern of mine. We were not able to communicate with anyone. ZZZ is uncontrolled; so no ATC; ACARS doesn't work there; and the station's radio did work. If we were to have a more serious issue for example a medical emergency or needing firefighting services we would be left by ourselves with no assistance. The ops radio at ZZZ doesn't work. Fix the ops radio.
Air carrier Check Airman reported concerns when informed that the station operations radio 'only works sometimes' when attempting to return to the gate and address a passenger misconduct issue.