he Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO) has announced the acquisition of 10 electric conveyor belt loaders, the first of its kind in Nigeria, to boost Ground Handling operations across all the commercially operated airports in the country.
SAHCO in a statement signed by its Manager, Corporate Communications, Mrs. Vanessa Uansohia, said the electric conveyor belt loader which is manufactured by Charlatte Manutention, a renowned aviation industry manufacturer and supplier of quality Ground Support Equipment in France, are fitted with modern technology with zero carbon monoxide emission.
It uses 80 volts rechargeable batteries with low maintenance cost which has the potential to save SAHCO a lot of money that could have been spent on diesel, petrol, fuel filters and engine oil.
She said the Ground Support Equipment (GSE) is an upgraded version of existing conveyor belt loader in the market, it is very convenient to use and fitted with an anti-collision system.
Concurrently, according to her, the electric conveyor belt loaders which are designed to convey baggage and goods into the aircraft are ruggedly built to withstand the African terrain and weather conditions.
SAHCO is reputed to invest in environment friendly GSE hence, the need for the purchase of these new feats of technology. The electric conveyor belt loader can service wide body aircraft and also narrow body ones.
Recently, SAHCO which was crowned with the Best Performing Stock Award during the BusinessDay/NGX Awards in Lagos is constantly investing in unique GSE to serve its constantly growing list of clientele that are spread across all the commercially operated airports in Nigeria.
It should be noted that SAHCO Plc was the first to introduce electric GSE into the Nigerian Ground Handling Support System when it commissioned five electric tow tractors in 2021 which have since been deployed and have been in use.
Also recently, SAHCO acquired 10 Passenger Step Units that have the capacity to provide passenger access to a wide range of aircraft which included B747, B777, B767, A340, A380, A320, an Air Starter Unit (ASU) which is used to supply necessary quantity of air at a specified pressure to aircrafts while it is parked and two units of Airmarrel High Loader LAM 7000.