Iberia Airport Services Supplies “Green” Handling Services at Barcelona airport

• Remote-controlled electric pushback tractors now used to attend aircraft.

• Use of the new electric vehicles saves 23,000 kg, of CO₂ emissions per unit per year, while also improving ramp safety and flight punctuality

• With four new driverless pushback tractors on the job in Barcelona’s El Prat airport, Iberia’s Airports Division is preparing to bid for new handling contracts to supply the more sustainable and innovative services to other airports.

Iberia Airport Services will point to its new, sustainable ground vehicles at Barcelona Airport when bidding for new handling contracts from other airports this year.

Four new “Green Pushback” tractors are now in service at Barcelona’s El Prat airport. The vehicles are electric powered and guided by remote control to tow aircraft belonging to Iberia and all other airlines using the airport.

The advanced vehicles are very quiet, and each one annually spares the atmosphere emission of some 23,000 kg of CO₂, while operating more safely than their human-driven predecessors, and help top improve flight punctuality.

Their 80V batteries store enough power to conduct up to 28 aircraft towing operations between charges. The model operated by Iberia in Barcelona –the Mototok Spacer 8600– can be employed for all the narrow-bodied A319s, A320s, and A321s used by Iberia and Vueling for short- and medium-haul flights.

Iberia Airport Services Preparing Bids for New Handling Contracts

Iberia Airport Services provides handling services to more than 170 airlines at 29 Spanish airports. In 2019 it attended 320,000 flights, making it Spain’s leading handling operator.

Iberia Airport Services will offer its new and “greener” services to airports in this year’s round of bidding for the annual handling contracts.

Iberia Airport Services

• Attends passengers in airports, providing check-in, boarding, arrivals, and transfer services, as well as special services and dealing with incidents.
• Attends aircraft on the ground, including luggage classification, loading, and unloading
• Coordinates pre-flight preparations and dispatches flights.