Belfast City 'third world facilities'
22.02.10
Facilities at Belfast City Airport were described as ‘third world’ after a pilot and ground staff had to use brooms to clear ice from a plane because its de-icing machines were not working, the BBC reports. A passenger on a BMI flight 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 and another was broken.
The airport said the manual removal of ice was a recognised practice. A spokesman 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 was 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 off to allow us to take off. We thought they were joking, but then two cherry pickers appeared and the pilot and some of the ground staff were out with brooms knocking the ice off the aircraft.’
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