APU-Sherif

Since 2006, Hamburg Airport has an APU-Sheriff.

The background:
In order to reduce the exposure to noise and pollution on the apron both for employees and neighbours, since February 2006, the APUs (Auxiliary Power Units), i.e. the onboard power supply must no longer be used when the position is reached.. While the aircraft is provided with power at the pier positions and is stationary, mobile ground power aggregates, the so-called Ground Power Units (GPU), provide the necessary power. PCAs (Pre-Conditioned Air) additionally provide air conditioning.

The APU-Sheriff takes care that the existing regulations are observed and the APUs are actually turned off. Controls are carried out at various times, and so far, the pilots, who have been approached regarding this, showed themselves to be very cooperative, reacting promptly, so that regulatory measures were not required.

By now, 90% of the aircraft at Hamburg Airport use the service of ground power units.

During one hour of operation, the emissions for typical aircraft patterns (e.g. A320 or B737) for the APUs as well as for GPU with regards to air pollution are shown in this chart.

These figures show that the use of the GPU or the shutting down of the APUs opens up a significant potential for the reduction of pollution.

to top

Contact

APU-Sherif