Milan Malpensa even more eco-friendly; from today electric shuttles for pas-sengers and employees
Despite the crisis in the air transport sector due to Covid-19 which sees -73% of traffic at Milan Airports in 2020, SEA has chosen not to give up its commitment to the sustainability of its airports with new investments, continuing the path of reduc-ing CO2 emissions.
Thanks to the purchase and commissioning of new passenger shuttles and electric operating vehicles, SEA is positioned at the top of the ranking of green airports in Italy and among the first in Europe.
In the last month, 6 new fully electric e-Cobus 3002 entered service, which will become 13 by next year, thus renewing the entire fleet of passenger shuttles on the Milan Malpensa apron. The new Cobus, 13 meters long, and equipped with a lithium battery, have an autonomy of 8 hours and are recharged quickly in just 40 minutes. They can carry up to 100 passengers, 50 currently in compliance with anti Covid regulations. The use of these vehicles will allow savings of 30,000 kilograms of CO2 per year for each bus.
In addition, the new fully electric “push Lektro” has recently come into operation at Milan Malpensa. The push-back, a means used to move the aircraft on the apron, works thanks to autonomous lithium batteries for an entire working day, with a recharge time of just 4 hours.
From today, electric mobility also starts outside the apron: the shuttles that connect Terminal 1 with Terminal 2 and the Cargo City used by passengers and employees will be powered by electricity. The new vehicles, 12 meters long, are powered by High Power lithium batteries that guarantee a range of about 120 km.
The management of the shuttles was awarded through a tender to an “ATI” (Temporary Association of Companies) which includes Arriva, Airpullman and Autolinee Varesine. The batteries of these two new vehicles are recharged in just 8 minutes. The charging station is located in the Via Milano Parking P6 car park, one of the airport's official car parks in the immediate vicinity of Terminal 2. The buses are equipped with air conditioning, video surveillance and a manually operated wheelchair transport station on the central door.
SEA is also gradually replacing its Long Term Rental (NLT) fleet: around 200 vehicles will become eco-friendly.
“It is a complicated period for airports, but it is our deep conviction that we cannot start again without renewed and incisive action for sustainability - says Armando Brunini, CEO of SEA. In fact, we have a common goal with the main European airports which is to eliminate emissions by 2030, a goal that, even in this context of crisis, airport managers have decided to bring forward from 2050 to 2030. This commitment is particularly challenging even in the face of our government's decision not to include Italian airport sustainability projects in the Recovery Plan. However, SEA intends to continue on the path of reducing the environmental impact of its airports. We are aware that in the face of a drastic reduction in our investment capacity following the crisis, the times will be longer than in the previous Covid plans, but we are not stopping”.