Flying high

Manchester Airport is the latest
European airport to take advantage of
A-Safe’s Atlas Barrier. Since its
development by A-Safe in 2005, the
Atlas Barrier has been used at
Gatwick, Frankfurt, Brussels, Larnaca,
East Midlands, Geneva and Dublin to
name a few airports. It’s described by
A-Safe as “a revolutionary, cost saving
and maintenance free safety system”.

Manchester Airport’s airfield
facilities manager comments: ‘As
Manchester is such a busy airport,
safety and security remain our top
priority especially for staff out on the
airfield where there are several vehicle
and aircraft movements. Due to this,
we require structurally sound and low
maintenance barriers in place to
protect our passengers and vehicles,
which is what A-Safe have supplied.

The process from
initial contact to
installing the
barriers has been
seamless and we
have found the
team to be very
helpful.”
A-Safe director
James Smith
adds: “We created
the Atlas Barrier
in consultation
with Heathrow
airport, in a move that saw us adapt
our existing barrier to meet
stringent airport safety standards.

We not only achieved what was
required to earn BS 6399 standard,
but we exceeded it.”
When an airport vehicle hits an
A-Safe product, there is no damage
caused due to the barriers’ built-in
memory. They flex, absorb the
impact, don’t cause damage to the
concrete floor, and don’t damage the
vehicle. When the vehicle is
deflected away from the barrier, or
moves clear of it, the barrier returns
to its normal shape. A-Safe says that
thousands of pounds a year in
maintenance costs have been saved
by airports that use the Atlas Barrier,
including Gatwick, which is said to
have saved over £100,000 a year in
maintenance costs.