Pro Aero Mats 

Flexible hardstanding, taxiways, runway matting, aircraft landing & recovery mats.

A Hardstand is a paved area that is intended for the parking of all Aircraft types over an indefinite period of time.

Although not clearly defined by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) a hardstand is used by several aircraft operators worldwide for this purpose so as to increase the capacity of traffic movement, especially at the busier International Airports where time is of the essence.

Once the aircraft is re-instated for operational requirements it is merely towed from the hardstand back to the movement area in order to complete maintenance checks etc. prior to being scheduled.

The airport’s hardstand is conveniently positioned separately from the Movement and Manoeuvring area`s so that aircraft being positioned here have no effect on the daily operation of an Airports activities and movements.

By using Pro Aero mats – suitable as flexible hard standing, rapidly deployable, reusable matting system.

We supply durable aircraft tow mats and aircraft recovery mats for when an aircraft has to be moved to or from a runway.

Pros& Cons comparison to the client – Pro Aero Matting vs Asphalt/Concrete

Pro Aero Mat vs Asphalt/Concrete – Pros

• Easy system to install and extract.
• Rapid Deployable and re-deployable solution.
• Can be as temporary or permanent as needed.
• Can be re-located with ease.
• It is a transportable system.
• Minimum maintenance required.
• Replacement panels are available.
• Multi-use and versatile system for various applications.
• Value for money.
• Environmentally friendly and recyclable.
• Can be resold to earn income after usage
• Recuperate most of the investment back after use
• Selling to event, construction & tenting companies
• Earn rental income for own gain from events, construction & tenting companies.
• Also good for use as aircraft tow mats

Pro Aero Mat vs Asphalt/Concrete – Cons

• Imported Lead-time to supply large quantities
• Freight costs

The concept of aircraft stacking can be compared to that of the offshore environment where oilrigs are stacked alongside in a harbor, designated offshore area, or shipyard indefinitely while the owners await existing contracts to be renewed or new contracts to be awarded.

One distinct difference however between aircraft stacking and rig stacking is that in the event of a rig being stacked, it is manned by a skeleton crew who continually conduct maintenance checks to ensure that the offshore installation is ready to proceed to work at a moment’s notice, whereas when an aircraft is stacked it is safely shut down in total and not manned by any standby personnel/crew for this period.

All the movements of aircraft parked on a hardstand are conducted via a tug and ideally, only one movement is managed in this area at a time; i.e. – Either an aircraft is being towed onto a position on the hardstand or being towed from their position on the hardstand to the maintenance area or designated parking bay on the Apron.

Pro Aro mats also work well as aircraft tow mats, the Pro Aro mats can easily be moved and deployed on uneven terrain, to assist with the towing of an aircraft.

With the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic taking its toll globally within the Aviation Industry, several Airline operators are considering relocating their company aircraft to this type of facility until further notice.

There are two contributing factors which assist the Airline Operator to make this decision namely:

1. Parking Fees

When an aircraft is parked in a designated parking bay on the Apron they are charged a nominal fee payable per hour (or a portion thereof), which can become very costly when the aircraft finds itself stationary at this position for an unplanned period of time.

The Airport Operator needs aircraft to continually move in and out of these parking bays for an allotted time period so as to ensure that the Airport can manage the planned scheduled arrival and departure sequence of aircraft effortlessly.

In order to reduce costs significantly when planning for the unknown Airline Operators are opting to make use rather of an Aircraft Hardstand

2. Congestion

An aircraft that is parked stationary on a Hardstand will not interfere with the daily movement operation at an Airfield while those aircraft parked stationary on a designated parking bay may find their situation becomes disrupted once too often due to the Airport Operator having to move their aircraft to another location to make way for the next scheduled arriving aircraft that has been assigned the exact parking bay that your aircraft was previously occupying.

At Composite Base Rig Mats (CBRM) we offer Airport Operators:

1. An independent survey to meet the design requirements (plus anticipated budget) for the installation of a Hardstand at the allocated Aerodrome.
2. The flexibility of providing Composite Base Rig Mats, Pro Aero matting, that will facilitate covering both non-concrete and/or asphalt surfaces.
3. An outcome tailored to meet your Airports operational requirements.

NOTE:

In addition to the above, the Airport Operator also has the flexibility of reselling this Matting to several institutions should they ever decide to discontinue the hardstand (as opposed to utilizing asphalt which would be a permanent fixture).

Get in touch with our professional team to find out more about hardstands and aircraft recovery mats.