GREEN SCENE
STUTTGART’S GREEN
CREDENTIALS GROWING
Late last year Stuttgart airport introduced
four fully electric baggage and cargo
tractors for fast, quiet and emissionsfree
cargo handling. Just as powerful
as diesel bag tractors, but up to 60%
more economical, the Sherpa E tractors
supplied by Goldhofer are now being
used to tow all air cargo to required
destinations.
“In 2018 we rst started using zeroemission,
battery-operated technology to
handle passenger and baggage movements
on the apron. We have now done the
same in the cargo sector by replacing
diesel-powered cargo tow tractors with
the emissions-free Goldhofer vehicles,”
commented Dr Arina Freitag, Managing
Director of Flughafen Stuttgart.
Goldhofer’s airport technology experts
were closely involved in the planning,
organisation and installation of the
necessary charging infrastructure. “We are
delighted that the power, e ciency and
sustainability of our high performance
tow tractors are helping Stuttgart airport
to achieve its ambitious climate targets.
At the same time, it motivates us to
continue developing complete ground
handling solutions based on sustainable
technologies,” added Lothar Holder,
CEO, Goldhofer, and Head of Airport
Technology.
Goldhofer says that its electric tow
tractors o er the same high levels of
reliability, safety and exibility as the
diesel-powered versions, while energy
savings can be as high as 80%. e
highly e cient 400 V lithium-ion battery
is designed for fast charging, while
intermediate charging is also possible
in even the shortest of breaks, thanks to
Goldhofer’s IonMaster technology. e
net result is 30% higher availability than
with lead-acid batteries so that the Sherpa
E can be operated almost continuously
over several shi s. In addition, active
temperature management ensures
maximum battery service life. e Sherpa
E can be operated both indoors and
outdoors and it comes with a choice of
ballast weights and three cabin options.
With these individual con gurability
possibilities, the tow tractors can
be customised to meet the speci c
requirements and operating conditions of
any airport.
Boxing
clever
SAS is to launch a new packaging of
the award-winning New Nordic by
SAS food concept. e new design of
the cube is calculated to save up to
51 tonnes of plastics per year. is is
one of many important steps toward
reaching the SAS goal of having 100%
sustainable materials in the customer
o ering no later than 2030.
With the emphasis on a
contemporary in-air dining
experience, using locally produced
and seasonal ingredients, New Nordic
by SAS has had a sustainability focus
since it was launched in 2017. e
new packaging was launched in late
November, with a fresh design and
more sustainable materials.
“Every day we develop our service
o ering and constantly evaluate
everything we load onboard. We
remove what is not needed and
work to nd innovative solutions
for our materials and packaging,”
says Karl Sandlund, EVP and Chief
Commercial O cer.
Some form of plastic is o en
necessary because of food safety
requirements. erefore, the
suppliers of SAS have come up with
a solution that replaces the inside
plastic container of the cube with a
paper one. It is made of FSC approved
paper with a plastic coating, itself
made from organic plant-based
plastic instead of the more usual oilbased
option.
e cutlery kit in the cube has
also been changed. e new kits
are adapted to each meal in order
to minimise the use of resources,
meaning that each piece of cutlery is
o ered only if needed. It is calculated
that by May 2020 the new cutlery will
be found in every cube.
IN BRIEF
In South Africa, Solaris-based biodiesel is set to be integrated with ground handling
operations at OR Tambo International airport. Sources indicate that this will support a feasible
scaling up of feedstock production and infrastructure to the point that a fully localised value
chain for a hydro-treated vegetable oil refi nery could be built at some future date. This would
produce bio-jet fuel and green diesel. Endorsed by South African Airways, the collaboration
involves Sunchem, Swissport, The Royal Bafokeng Nation and iLive.
38 February 2020 Ground Handling International