Mumbai: The civil aviation ministry has mandated airlines and ground handling (GH) companies to phase out airport equipment that is older than twelve years and switch to electric or fuel efficient variants by May 2022.
While the companies have welcomed the ministry’s green initiative, they said that the deadline for implementation is tight, especially in the wake of financial challenges faced by the aviation sector during the pandemic.
Ground handling covers functions such as check-in, passenger boarding, cargo loading and unloading, aircraft cleaning etc. While domestic airlines are allowed to do self-handling, foreign airlines rely on GH companies.
Airlines and GH companies use motorised and non-motorised equipment such as low floor buses, step ladders, pushback tugs, cargo loaders, baggage tractors, pallet dollies, tow bars among others.
“It has been decided that all GH agencies and airlines doing self-handling at airports having passenger movement of more than 3.5 million passengers per annum shall comply with the minimum standard of ground support equipment and vehicle,” the civil aviation ministry said in a November 1 order. The order would cover around twenty-five top airports in the country.
It said the decision had been taken in order to ensure the use of state of art equipment and best practices in line with International Air Transport Association’s airport handling manual as also for maintaining an eco-friendly environment at airports. All GH companies and airlines doing self-handling have to ensure strict compliance of the minimum standards for ground support equipment (GSE) and vehicles in six months.
According to the order the maximum age limit of GSEs will be twelve years. Refurbished equipment too shall not be allowed under any circumstances, it said. The government also wants companies to induct electric-powered equipment or use diesel vehicles that are compliant with Bharat-VI emission standards.
21/11/21 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard
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