Doosan Industrial Vehicles UK ground support equipment subsidiary Rushlift GSE has entered into a six-year contract with Menzies Aviation.

Rushlift GSE will initially lease 650 new vehicles to Menzies’ ground handling operations at London/ Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The multi-million-pound contract will include the provision of a fleet of pushback tugs and hi-loaders from Trepel, mobile conveyor belts and electric baggage and pushback tugs from TLD, and trailers from UK manufacturer TBD.

The staged rollout, which is already underway, will continue through to Q2 of 2022 and is timed to align with the expected resurgence in passenger air travel.

Stephen Gallagher, SVP GSE and equipment at Menzies Aviation, said: “The reliability and uptime of our ground handling equipment is absolutely imperative to the service we provide – our reputation depends upon it. We’re confident that Rushlift GSE will provide the GSE and support we’re looking for, both here in the UK and overseas.”

Tim Willett, operations director at Rushlift GSE, added: “In line with Menzies’ environmental objectives, we will be introducing a number of electric GSE vehicles over the six-year term of the contract.

“We are also exploring alternative fuel options, including biofuels and hydrogen. One of the huge advantages of being a subsidiary of Doosan is that we have access to a world-leading team of specialists dedicated to researching sustainable, alternative fuels.”