Yemisi Izuora
Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc, (SAHCO) has continued its expansion in the Aviation Ground Support Equipment (GSE) fleet upgrade with acquisition of new ultra-modern equipment.
This is to support its adjustment programme aiming at expanding its business activities.
These fleet includes Air Conditioning Units (ACU), Ground Power Units (GPU), Toilet Bowsers, Water Bowsers and Baggage Carts. SAHCO procured 3 units of Air Conditioning Units to provide Airlines with air conditioning to the aircraft cabin while the aircraft is on ground.
Two of the ACUs are manufactured to produce 50 pounds of preconditioned air per second for wide body aircrafts and the other is to produce 15 pounds of preconditioned air per second for narrow body aircraft.
Both ACUs were manufactured by Guinault, a reputable GSE manufacturer in France. The ACUs are built to be environmentally friendly producing less or no carbon monoxide to the atmosphere because they are fitted with tier 4 Engines which is the latest technology in compliance with the strictest Emission of Particulate Matter (EPA) emission requirement for off-highway diesel engines.
Similarly, the ACUs systems are fitted with a sim card that is used to monitor the activity of the equipment by both the manufacturer and the End User to curb misuse, abuse and diagnose malfunction.
In addition, the ACUs, three Ground Power Units (GPU) were procured to deliver alternative voltage supply for Aircrafts while on ground.
The fleet which was also manufactured by Guinault are two units of GPU equipped to produce 140 KVA of energy for wide body aircrafts and one unit of GPU with the capacity of producing 90 KVA of energy for narrow body aircrafts.
These GPUs are also fitted with the Tier 4 Engine to check Carbon Monoxide emission and sim cards for proper monitoring and capacity by both the manufacturer and End User.
Also, SAHCO constructed three Toilet and two Water Bowsers from locally sourced materials by its Engineering and Maintenance team. The bowsers which are used to produce water and to eliminate waste from the Aircraft are manufactured according to European standards.
The tanks of both GSEs are built from galvanized steel to prevent rust and are both towable so as to check energy consumption and emission like the diesel powered GSEs.
Another GSE produced by SAHCO are Baggage Carts, which are built according to European standards. The carts are also built to be roomier than their European counterparts to accommodate large volume of baggage. The carts have a peculiar feature of the capacity to be loaded sideways, this helps in reducing the turnaround time of flights.
Another feature of the Baggage cart is that it is built with stainless plates to prevent rusting making it all weather to accommodate Nigerian terrain. They are fitted with hoods and canopies to protect passengers’ baggage from rain and the carts also have brakes and hooks installed to prevent accidents and slips.
SAHCO is a Publicly Listed Aviation Ground Handling Service provider that is present in all the commercially operated Airports in Nigeria which are Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Calabar, Ilorin, Enugu, Maiduguri, Gombe, Akure, Ibadan, Jos, Asaba, Benin, Bauchi, Uyo, Sokoto, Kaduna and Yola. SAHCO is involved in activities that includes Passenger Handling, Ramp Handling, Cargo Handling and Warehousing, Aviation Security, VIP Lounge services amongst other aviation related services.