Aviation services firm Menzies Aviation completed its first live Mototok pushback at London Heathrow Airport (LHR), which was carried out at Terminal 2 for Aer Lingus.
The LHR team has since carried out 20 further pushbacks after that initial manoeuvre, the first outside of British Airways’ Terminal 5 and the culmination of a year of preparation and planning.
“This is another step forward in our ambition to be both the LHR handler of choice, and a handler at the forefront of technology and innovation,” said Alan Hoskins, Training Manager.
“It’s also more environmentally responsible than traditional pushback methods, adding an extra layer of progress to an already forward-thinking approach.”
The remote-controlled pushback tug, manufactured by German ground support company Mototok, is a relatively new innovation in the ground handling sector, having first been trialled in 2015 and gradually rolled out at airports worldwide since then.
The company was awarded the title of 2019 Product Leader of the Year by the Aviationpros website for its pushback tug, which is recognised as being environmentally friendly, cost-effective and requiring minimal training.
Menzies has been associated with the Mototok tug since 2016, when it partnered with the German firm to trial their Mototok Spacer 8600 in Copenhagen, Demark.
