British company supplies new passenger stairs

By Azernews

By Leman Mammadova

Silk Way Airlines upgrades the aircraft equipment at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport in accordance with an agreement reached with British company TBD.

TBD delivered 18 sets of towable passenger stairs for ground handling for Silk Way Airlines in Azerbaijan, said Silk Way West Airlines.

The order with a total value of over 500,000 pound sterling ($608,867) provides for a complete upgrade of the equipment of the Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku.

TBD is a well-known British manufacturer of ground support equipment, which provides special solutions for access to the aerospace and defense industries.

The first ten towable passenger stairs were delivered back in May of this year which coincided with the eve of the European Cup final.

Moreover, Silk Way Ground Handling's own team was trained so that they could themselves complete the installation of the remaining towable passenger stairs.

In addition to the stairs, the company also supplied a large number of luggage trailers, container trolleys and pallet trucks for ground handling by Silk Way Airlines.

“TBD competed with numerous global suppliers from the USA, EU and the Middle East to conclude this contract. But, Silk Way focused on quality improvement, as well as on selecting a manufacturer that could also provide staff training and engineering support,” said Jonathan Attfield, Sales Director of TBD, reads the message.

Silk Way Airlines is an Azerbaijani cargo airline headquartered in Baku. The company operates scheduled and charter cargo flights to over 50 destinations worldwide.

Heydar Aliyev International Airport is one of the six international airports serving Azerbaijan. The airport is located 20 kilometers northeast of Baku, connected to the city by a modern highway, which was put into operation in 2008. It is the busiest airport in Azerbaijan and of the Caucasus.

The airport serves as the home base for flag carrier Azerbaijan Airlines and its subsidiary Buta Airways as well as freight carrier Silk Way Airlines.

Last year, Heydar Aliyev International Airport set a new record for passenger traffic: it served a total of 4.43 million passengers, which is 9 percent higher than in 2017. A total of 3.81 million passengers were carried on international flights and 620,000 passengers - on regional flights.

The terminal of the airport features giant wooden cocoons designed by Turkish architecture studio Autoban. The Airport was listed among the top three unusual airports in the world, according to Hi-Tech.

In 2017 and 2018, Heydar Aliyev International Airport was named the best airport among those of CIS countries for the level of services provided and was awarded the maximum rating of 5 Stars according to Skytrax World Airport Awards.

In 2019, Heydar Aliyev International Airport was named the best airport with passenger traffic up to 10 million according to Sky Travel Awards.