AOG stands for “Aircraft on Ground” and represents one of the most critical situations in the aviation industry. When an aircraft is designated as AOG, it means the plane cannot safely fly or operate due to technical problems, mechanical failures, missing parts, or required maintenance that must be completed before the aircraft can return to service.

Think of it like when your car breaks down and you can’t drive it until it’s fixed, except the stakes are much higher in aviation. Every minute an aircraft sits on the ground costs airlines enormous amounts of money. A typical commercial airliner can cost an airline between $10,000 to $50,000 per hour when it’s not flying, depending on the aircraft size and the airline’s operations. This includes lost revenue from cancelled flights, passenger compensation, crew costs, airport fees, and the domino effect on other flights in the schedule.

AOG situations create urgent operational pressures because airlines operate on tight schedules with aircraft often flying multiple routes per day. When one plane goes AOG, it can disrupt dozens of connecting flights, strand passengers in different cities, and force airlines to find replacement aircraft or cancel services entirely. This is why AOG parts procurement and logistics have developed into a specialized, high-speed industry that operates around the clock to get aircraft back in the air as quickly as possible.