BENGALURU: The Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) entered into an agreement with KUNZ GmbH, a German company that supplied aircraft recovery equipment, to jointly establish a centre for disabled aircraft recovery training and manufacture the equipment necessary. Officials said that the agreement would help reduce downtime during runway emergencies. This will make Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) the first airport in the country with the capability effect recovery of disabled aircraft up to Code F category, said officials.
Disabled aircraft cripple the operations of an airport, which eventually leads to delays, diversions and loss of revenue. However, when such aircraft recover quickly operations remain unaffected, they added. Representatives said that BIAL has constituted a team of recovery managers, who will undergo extensive hands-on training at KUNZ GmbH’s state-of-the-art recovery training facility in Germany. Additionally, a quick response recovery team (QRRT) will be formed and given technical knowledge on how to respond to critical situations. With the equipment KIA’s operational capability will get a boost during runway emergencies, according to BIAL chief operating officer Thomas Hoff Andersson. “At a time when the aviation industry in India is growing at an unprecedented rate, this disabled aircraft recovery equipment will ensure that the impact to operations is minimal, if there is an incident on the runway,” he added.
KUNZ GmbH managing director Andreas Fuge expressed great pleasure over the airport being equipped with a wide range of Kunz Aircraft Recovery Products. “With our strong partner BIAL, we will develop a competent training centre in Bengaluru to reduce the downtime of airports during recovery situations and increase awareness to avoid secondary damage to aircraft during recovery operations,” Fuge said.