Belfast Airport ‘third world’ facilities
22.02.10
Facilities at Belfast City Airport have been described as ‘third world’ after staff had to use brooms to clear ice from a plane because de-icing machines were not working, the BBC reports. A passenger on a BMI flight from the airport to Heathrow on Sunday, the former head of the Assets Recovery Agency, Alan McQuillan said passengers were told one of the airport's de-icing machines was empty, while another was broken. The airport said the manual removal of ice was a recognised practice.
An airport spokesperson told the BBC: ‘Ground staff working with flight crew must ensure departing aircraft are free of snow and ice. Whilst the manual removal of snow and ice may look antiquated to those not familiar with aircraft operations, it is recognised practice, carried out to ensure the safety of passengers.’
However, Mr McQuillan, who told the news service that the flight was delayed by more than an hour, described the airport's de-icing facilities as ‘third world’. He said: ‘The pilot announced that he and the first officer were going to go out on to the wings and try and brush the ice and snow off with brooms to see if they could get enough ice off that way to allow them to take off. We thought at first they were joking, but the next thing was two cherry pickers appeared and the pilot and some of the ground staff were out with brooms knocking the ice off the aircraft.’
Add to: del.icio.us | Digg it | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
To book belfast airport hotel or belfast airport car park at the lowest price click on these links to Belfast airport car parking and Belfast airport hotel price comparison pages.
