Aberdeen Airport off to a flying start for winter

Aug. 3, 2012
At the start of August, thoughts of winter-time could not be further from the minds of holidaymakers jetting off from the north-east.

At the start of August, thoughts of winter-time could not be further from the minds of holidaymakers jetting off from the north-east.

But Aberdeen Airport is already preparing for harsh conditions and a new fleet of snowploughs and emergency vehicles worth £1.3million were unveiled yesterday.

The two snow vehicles will be able to clear the airport's runway five times faster than the previous equipment could.

Carol Benzie, operations director at the airport, said: "Some of our kit was almost 30 years old and it was very expensive to maintain.

"We have a really good reputation in the wintertime and even during the worst conditions Aberdeen Airport only closed for two hours to clear snow.

"But the new snowploughs are bigger, wider and will be five times faster than the old kit, ensuring that we can continue to perform at the highest standards, even when the elements are against us."

A £700,000 Rosenbauer Panther fire engine has also been purchased - the same model that featured in the 2007 Transformers film - and a small electric car is on trial.

Mrs Benzie added: "Our fire service has to be available 24 hours a day to respond to emergencies, so our transport department did a lot of research into what would be the best for the airport campus.

"It is also exciting to have an electric car on trial. Due to the geography of the airport campus, many of our teams travel some distances to attend meetings or respond to requests.

"Making sure we are able to do this in an environmentally-friendly way is important."

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