Aviator Airport Alliance is setting the standard for adopting electric ground support equipment (eGSE) by balancing the process while ensuring the recycling of legacy assets. As part of Aviator’s commitment to becoming carbon neutral in its operations by 2026, the full-range provider of aviation services has already cut CO2 emissions by 50 percent per departure since 2019. This success is largely due to more than half of Aviator’s GSE fleet being electrically powered.
The adoption of modern technologies is key to Aviator’s sustainability goals, but the process has created a unique challenge for professionals in Aviator’s network of GSE maintenance shops. Just as the aircraft they serve require specialized maintenance needs, so too does the GSE used for airline operations.
While electric vehicle integration is an ongoing process at Aviator, there is a diverse age demographic among ground service devices. At Copenhagen Airport (CPH), the oldest equipment, a belt loader for loading cargo and passenger bags, has been in operation for a very long time. The newest machines were delivered this year. However, newer equipment requires new expertise for maintenance. Nicki Komi, GSE manager at Aviator, says that the company’s staff were provided additional training on the differences between newer and older equipment maintenance.