Over the past couple of months, work has been undertaken on three of our aircraft stands to make them safer and stronger for aircraft to park on.
Some of the asphalt surrounding the concrete apron stands where aircraft park had been rutting because of repeated aircraft and ground service equipment movements.
The ruts on the stands meant that rather than aircraft rolling smoothly to a stop, or using a gentle acceleration to move off, pilots had to use extra thrust to move on or off them. This carried risks such as overshooting stop marks and accelerating too quickly endangering other airfield users. Additionally, ruts can result in water pooling, which can become an ice risk during the winter.
To fix the ruts and prevent damage in the future, we’ve installed concrete adjacent to the existing concrete stand blocks. We’ve also added concrete on the equipment side of the stand to support the ground handlers in maintaining a safe operation near aircraft.
This work took place in phases over the past couple of months, so we didn’t disrupt our scheduled services.
