Word on the Wing
Every aviation story arrives wrapped in its own vocabulary. In our Word on the Wing series we lift six real terms from the past four weeks of aviation news — roughly mid-July to mid-August 2026 — and unpack each one in plain English. This month brought airport strikes, a battle over Heathrow’s costs, a fresh order to replace landing instruments, and the first high-altitude flight of a hybrid-electric aircraft. Here are the words behind the headlines.
Glossary
industrial action (n.)
Industrial action is any organised protest by workers — most often a strike — used to put pressure on an employer during a dispute, usually over pay or conditions.
After talks over pay broke down, the ground staff took industrial action, and the airport was forced to cancel dozens of flights a day.
Usage note: A formal, mostly British, uncountable phrase — say take industrial action, never “an industrial action”. A strike (workers stop completely) and a work-to-rule (workers do only the strict minimum) are both forms of it.
turnaround (n.)
A turnaround is the whole process of preparing an aircraft between landing and its next departure — unloading, cleaning, refuelling, loading and boarding.
The ground-handling company looks after check-in, baggage and the aircraft turnaround, so when its staff walked out the airport quickly came to a standstill.
Usage note: Airlines prize a quick turnaround because a parked aircraft earns nothing; a short-haul turnaround time of about 25 minutes is common. Don’t confuse it with the business sense of a company “turnaround” (a recovery from losses).
landing charges (n., plural)
Landing charges (or landing fees) are the payments an airline makes to an airport each time one of its aircraft lands there.
The regulator agreed that the airport could recover the money slowly by adding it to the landing charges it collects from airlines.
Usage note: Often used with levy or collect — an airport levies landing charges on carriers. At major hubs a regulator watches these fees closely, because airlines pass them on to passengers in the ticket price.
radio altimeter (n.)
A radio altimeter is an instrument that measures an aircraft’s exact height above the ground by bouncing a radio signal off the surface below and timing the echo.
Because a radio altimeter is so accurate close to the ground, pilots rely on it to land safely in thick fog.
Usage note: Also called a radalt. Unlike a barometric altimeter, which uses air pressure and shows height above sea level, the radio altimeter shows true height above the terrain — which is why it matters most in the final seconds of a landing.
hybrid-electric (adj.)
A hybrid-electric aircraft is powered by a combination of a normal fuel-burning engine and an electric motor, rather than by either one alone.
GE flew a hybrid-electric aircraft above 30,000 feet, driving it with an electric motor alongside one of its gas turbines.
Usage note: Modelled on hybrid-electric car, and keep the hyphen. It sits between a conventional aircraft and a fully electric one: the fuel engine provides the range, the motor saves fuel.
testbed (n.)
A testbed is an existing aircraft that has been modified so that engineers can try out a new engine, system or technology on it in real flight.
Engineers fitted the new engine to a modified Saab 340B, using the old turboprop as a flying testbed.
Usage note: Often written test-bed, or as a testbed aircraft / flying testbed. The idea is to prove one new part on a trusted airframe before building a whole new aircraft around it.
Practice
Fill each gap with a term from this issue. The last two (marked Review:) reach back to words we met in earlier issues.
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Ground staff at the airport took ____ over pay, and hundreds of flights were cancelled.
The phrase for organised worker protest (a strike, a work-to-rule) is ‘industrial action’.
Industrial action — organised protest such as a strike.
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A fast ____ matters because an aircraft only earns money when it is flying, not when it is parked at the gate.
The whole between-flights process (unload, clean, refuel, board) is the ‘turnaround’.
Turnaround — preparing the aircraft between landing and its next departure.
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Airports collect ____ from airlines every time an aircraft touches down.
The per-landing payment airlines make to an airport is ‘landing charges’ (or ‘landing fees’).
Landing charges — what an airline pays an airport for each landing.
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In thick fog the crew trusted the ____, which measures the exact height above the ground.
The instrument giving height above the ground (not above sea level) is the ‘radio altimeter’.
Radio altimeter — measures true height above the terrain by bouncing a radio signal off it.
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A ____ aircraft uses both a fuel-burning engine and an electric motor.
Fuel engine plus electric motor together makes it ‘hybrid-electric’ (keep the hyphen).
Hybrid-electric — powered by a fuel engine and an electric motor together.
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Rather than build a new aircraft, the company fitted the engine to an old airliner and used it as a flying ____.
A trusted airframe modified to prove a new part in flight is a ‘testbed’.
Testbed — an existing aircraft modified to try out new technology in real flight.
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Review: At a very busy airport, an airline must be given a take-off ____ before it can add a new flight.
A permitted take-off/landing time at a busy airport is a ‘slot’.
Slot — a permitted take-off or landing time at a congested airport.
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Review: The engine hangs beneath the wing on a strong ____ that carries its weight and thrust.
The structure joining an engine to the wing is the ‘pylon’ (engine strut).
Pylon — the structure attaching an engine to the wing.
CEFR Level B2 / ICAO Level 5
Want to see one of this month’s words in action? Read our full report on GE’s hybrid-electric flight above 30,000 feet and follow where electrified flight goes next.
