David Charman, responsible for airside safety at the airport has had several Unimog U 500 vehicles for the past five years and it looks like he was quite satisfied by them. The first two of another six Unimogs have already arrived, handed over by Mark Hopkins, Head of Unimog sales at Mercedes-Benz UK. After all, an order like this during the financial crisis doesn't happen very often.
"The BAA airport operator also uses 10 Unimog vehicles at Heathrow, 8 at Edinburgh and 6 at Aberdeen. "In the peak season we have up to 60 take-offs and landings an hour here at Gatwick and up to 1000 aircraft movements every day", says Charman.
"If flights are delayed or, worse still, cancelled because of snow or ice on the runway, the costs incurred are considerable and, of course, our customers aren't happy. That's why it's important for us to have winter-service vehicles we know we can rely on one hundred percent".
The Unimog vehicles are equipped with snowploughs and towed airport sweepers, and operate in a staggered echelon formation to free the runway from snow as quick as possible. They also feature a snow cutter, a sprayer unit for runway de-icing and a loading crane for infrastructure work.
"Gatwick was the only airport in southern England to get through last winter without any closures, and our Unimog fleet deserves much of the credit," David Charman added.
The vehicles can be also used as a large surface mower, if equipped with a PTO shaft, power hydraulics and working gears. Moreover, with a front-mounted sweeper, the Unimog cleans aprons and taxiways.
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