A safe airplane-derived refuse unloading system, comprising: a) a chamber for receiving airplane-derived refuse; b) a chute in communication with said receiving chamber, along which the refuse gravitates and from which it is dischargeable to said receiving chamber; c) a safety gate connected to said chute and which is settable in falling preventing relation with respect to an above-ground access door of an airplane from which the refuse is unloadable, said safety gate configured with an upper border element over which refuse elements are transferable via said access door into said chute; and d) a pneumatically releasable air brake assembly, characterized in that said safety gate is additionally configured with a peripheral border which includes a bottom border element that is adapted to be positioned at approximately a height of an airplane cabin floor, opposed lower side border elements (23, 24) that extend upwardly from, and substantially perpendicular to, the bottom border element and that have a width therebetween greater than the width of the access door, opposed upper side border elements (27, 28) that are laterally spaced by a width therebetween narrower than the width between the lower side border elements to prevent interference with upper hinges of the access door which is opened, and the upper border element which is located above and between the lower side border elements, wherein an entire height of said safety gate, including an upper substantially vertically oriented section and a lower section thereof, when set in falling preventing relation with respect to the access door, is spaced by no more than 10 cm from the entire peripheral border of the access door, wherein said pneumatically releasable air brake assembly comprises a pneumatically releasable lock cylinder and a bar that is pivotally connected at one end to said safety gate and is received within an interior of said lock cylinder, so as to be axially displaced within a bore when said safety gate is pivoted, wherein said lock cylinder is configured with a spring that is biased to radially displace said bar to a wall of the bore and to thereby apply a locking force onto said bar that immobilizes said safety gate to prevent personnel from accidently falling through said access door by preventing said bar from pivoting when said chute ceases to be vertically displaced, wherein said bar is displaceable in an opposite radial direction by a pulse of air that is injected into an air inlet when said safety gate is to undergo a vertical displacement. a) a chamber for receiving airplane-derived refuse; b) a chute in communication with said receiving chamber, along which the refuse gravitates and from which it is dischargeable to said receiving chamber; c) a safety gate connected to said chute and which is settable in falling preventing relation with respect to an above-ground access door of an airplane from which the refuse is unloadable, said safety gate configured with an upper border element over which refuse elements are transferable via said access door into said chute; and d) a pneumatically releasable air brake assembly, characterized in that said safety gate is additionally configured with a peripheral border which includes a bottom border element that is adapted to be positioned at approximately a height of an airplane cabin floor, opposed lower side border elements (23, 24) that extend upwardly from, and substantially perpendicular to, the bottom border element and that have a width therebetween greater than the width of the access door, opposed upper side border elements (27, 28) that are laterally spaced by a width therebetween narrower than the width between the lower side border elements to prevent interference with upper hinges of the access door which is opened, and the upper border element which is located above and between the lower side border elements, wherein an entire height of said safety gate, including an upper substantially vertically oriented section and a lower section thereof, when set in falling preventing relation with respect to the access door, is spaced by no more than 10 cm from the entire peripheral border of the access door, wherein said pneumatically releasable air brake assembly comprises a pneumatically releasable lock cylinder and a bar that is pivotally connected at one end to said safety gate and is received within an interior of said lock cylinder, so as to be axially displaced within a bore when said safety gate is pivoted, wherein said lock cylinder is configured with a spring that is biased to radially displace said bar to a wall of the bore and to thereby apply a locking force onto said bar that immobilizes said safety gate to prevent personnel from accidently falling through said access door by preventing said bar from pivoting when said chute ceases to be vertically displaced, wherein said bar is displaceable in an opposite radial direction by a pulse of air that is injected into an air inlet when said safety gate is to undergo a vertical displacement.