The Chennai airport is all set to use state-of-the art ground handling equipment, including coaches for transporting passengers from the operational area to the terminal building.
With the Airports Authority of India (AAI) announcing the new ground handling policy, Bhadra, a New Delhi-based private company has been entrusted with ground handling work. The company has imported all the ground handling equipment such as pushbacks, main deck and lower deck loaders, step ladders, conveyors, coaches, toe bars, electrical tractors, ground power units, air starter unit and transporters.
Prem Bajaj of the Bhadra said most of the equipment was imported from Germany. Giving details about the new coach, Cobus 3000, which forms part of the ground handling equipment, he said it had the capacity to transport 112 persons at a time. The plush interior and comfortable space in the air-conditioned coach would be a boon to passengers.
Another speciality in the coach is that its body could be lowered to the ground level, making it convenient for senior citizens to board and alight comfortably. A mat has been provided for bringing the wheelchair without much difficulty. The existing coaches, some of which do not have even air-conditioning facility, would be slowly phased out, said the AAI authorities.
The electrically powered towing tractor is one of the important equipment. The existing ones at the airport were emitting noise and causing pollution.
But, the new Trepel towing tractor is operated using batteries. They are the best suited for luggage and cargo handling. These tractors are meant for operating in cargo areas and aprons in an airport. Similarly, the ground power unit Hetzinger is another new eco-friendly equipment.
The noise from the equipment is very low, compared to the ones used at present, he said. All those handling the state-of-the art equipment have undergone training for a fortnight.
The AAI had earmarked the required space to Bhadra for keeping the equipment and for its maintenance. With the arrival of new equipment, the operational area will become cleaner, the AAI officials added.
