Exterior aircraft cleaning traditionally takes five to six hours to carry out, 18 people to complete and gallons of water to clean one aircraft. The Nordic Dino II, a sophisticated, computerised system designed by Swedish company Aviator, significantly lowers the time span of the cleaning operation, whilst enhancing cleaning quality and reducing the resources required.
The first instance of automated aircraft exterior cleaning was carried out on Air India’s A320 in just two hours - a quarter of the time usually required to clean a narrowbody aircraft.
The robot consists of a mobile power unit, spray nozzles and rotating cleaning brushes, powered by a lightweight remote control. The robot has a washing height of 8.5 metres, can wash aircraft up to the size of a B737 and can cater to approximately 5-7 aircraft per day at the airport.
AISATS’ skilled personnel have been specially trained to operate the GSE by the OEM instructor.
Mike Chew, CEO of AISATS said “We are proud to bring the nation’s first automated aircraft cleaning machine to the IGI airport. The introduction of Nordic Dino II and the recent investment in GSE holds testimony to our commitment to use technology to improve ground handling services to customer airlines at the IGI Airport and to contribute to a greener airport by using eco-friendly equipment.”
AISATS has invested a further Rs 400m invested in GSE at Indira Gandhi International since last year. The new GSE comprises both motorised and non-motorised equipment, including diesel tractors, passenger stairs, aircraft tow bars and towable conveyors.
