It’s not every day that you get a request in to handle at 67 foot /20.4 meter-long pipe as air cargo. Certainly a first over at Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK), which had the task of offloading the piece upon its arrival from Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Malaysia, recently. The pipe, part of an oil and gas industry shipment destined for Aberdeen, and one of three oversized pieces in the consignment, has since gone down as the airport’s longest piece of cargo ever handled. A record – and weighing in at 24 tons, a pretty heavy one. Despite its size, it and the two accompanying pieces (both measuring a mere 40 feet/12.19 meters each) were offloaded in just thirty minutes, thanks to recent investments in new airport equipment.
The jumbo pipe had been transported on three 20-foot pallets, connected together. Three main deck loaders and two cranes were deployed to safely offload the shipment from the aircraft. Thanks to PIK’s new high loaders, capable of handling weights of 20 and 35 tons respectively, the shipment was swiftly removed and sent on the next step of its journey to its final destination in Aberdeen. “PIK’s additional investments included a heavy-duty pushback tractor, 12 new dollies, a Rapiscan X-ray machine, and cold storage facilities ranging from -30°C to +25°C,” the press release recalled.
Jules Matteoni, Operations Director, PIK, stated: “The safe, careful, and efficient offloading of this cargo required extensive planning from our in-house ground handling team at Prestwick. Handling such a large piece of freight requires immense coordination and expertise, two of our key assets.”
Nico Le Roux, Business Development Director, PIK, added: “Last year, we decided to invest significantly in our infrastructure, and the success of this operation is a direct result of that commitment. We are dedicated to supporting our clients and the industries they operate in, particularly outsized cargo for the oil and gas sector, which has always been one of our strengths.”
