Commercial Fixed Wing
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Distraction; Time Pressure; Workload; Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Company Policy; Environment - Non Weather Related; Procedure
This has happened multiple times in the past and it seems no matter how many times I talk to the Station or Dispatch nothing is getting done and this is a safety of flight issue. In ERI I'm not sure what has changed in the past 6 months but every time I got in there; there is a lot of pressure and interruptions to get the aircraft in and out as quick as possible. I understand the need for quick turns but having a gate or ramp agent interrupting preflight duties and checklists defeat the purpose and is adding extra pressure to the crew and could lead to missing items in preflight and in checklists. It is not helpful to have to start a checklist over 5 times or more due to interruptions of someone asking if we can board or what the delay is. After doing a preflight 4 to 5 times and having to reread a checklist over and over again due to interruptions it's pretty noticeable. Not sure if there is added pressure to a lot of stations but ERI seems like they have pushed it to a whole new level. This day the aircraft was late and as soon as the last person was off they wanted to board. I said I will tell you when we can but it should be a few minutes we have to do our preflight and checklists and get situated. There ended up being an item I had to call and talk to Maintenance about an item with a question and I was interrupted 3 times trying to talk to them. I understand there was a VIP or regional manager on our flight...that is great but safety is first and making sure the aircraft is good to go is priority and if that means a flight is delayed so be it. It does not help to be interrupted. This is not the first time this has happened there but the 4th. Another time that sticks out in my mind is we had a min rest overnight with our show time 15 minutes prior to an originator. We were interrupted so many times and blocked from our areas to do preflight and checklist that at one point I called Dispatch to tell them to leave us alone and locked the flight deck door. I talked to the Station Manager that morning or the Supervisor and he seemed more concerned with the on-time then making sure we could get everything done and be safe. We ended up leaving much later than we could have without interruptions. Coming onto the flight deck and asking to board and asking the flight attendant nonstop does not help us go faster just slows us down.I talked to the agents; rampers; Manager; Dispatch and now trying to make it better with a safety report. Next time this happens I will walk off the aircraft and wait until they are ready to stay off the aircraft and let us tell them when we are ready to board and not them pushing and asking every 2 minutes. I am afraid every time they ask if we can board when we are in the middle of something and we have to start over that's a waste of my time and setting up for an error or problem to happen. If there is a punishment system for stations to turn a plane fast or get an aircraft out on time it is hurting more than helping. A lot of stations seem to be more in a rush and pushing. ERI pushes too far. With the added pressure to the stations someone could get hurt; something missed; or crews disrupted from doing their job. We all want an on time departure and quick turn but it isn't worth someone getting hurt or diminishing safety.
An Air Carrier Captain described his experience with ERI ground agents repeatedly pushing for quick turn arounds which interfere with and disregard the requirement to complete preflight procedures and checklists.