With the continuous expansion of China’s civil aviation transportation industry, airport ground operations have become increasingly dense. As a core component of safe ground operations and efficient flight scheduling, apron control serves as a critical hub connecting air traffic control, airports, airlines, and ground service providers. Currently, reforms regarding the transfer of apron control responsibilities are being fully implemented across the country. Major airports are gradually establishing independent apron control systems, with initial success in informatization of facilities and standardization of personnel. These efforts have effectively improved ground operation order and reduced safety conflict risks on the apron. However, the industry still faces challenges such as unclear responsibility boundaries, significant barriers to multi-party collaboration, uneven development of intelligent systems, incomplete safety management frameworks, and insufficient professional talent reserves—factors that severely hinder improvements in ground operational efficiency. Based on an analysis of the current state and issues within the civil aviation apron control sector, this paper proposes targeted development pathways from five dimensions—systems, coordination, intelligence, safety, and human resources—to provide theoretical guidance and practical support for high-quality development in apron control.