Manitou presented a tailor-made solution for Qantas.

The arrival of the world's largest passenger jet in Australia this month presented Qantas with unique maintenance challenges. The Airbus A380 is 73m long with a wingspan of 79.8m and a tail height of 24.1m, some 30% higher than the Boeing 747, which makes inspections difficult. Maintenance staff required a machine that would enable them to access heights of up to 24m with up to five staff with tooling and an 800kg capacity basket. After extensive consultation with the access industry, the company chose Manitou Australia to provide a Manitou MRT 2540 Telescopic Handler fitted with a 3m wide, 800kg work basket. The Manitou was chosen due to its impressive platform capacity with options up to 1,000kg available and its rigidity at full height. "After thoroughly evaluating submissions and proposals from across the industry, Manitou presented a tailor-made solution that ticked all our boxes," says Phil Bailey, Qantas Engineering. Other features of the telehandler are its anti-collision system to prevent the work platform coming into contact with any part of the Qantas A380. This system first gives a visual warning of an obstacle then locks out platform controls to prevent accidental collision. According to Stuart Walker, commercial manager, Manitou Australia, the solution not only meets the airline's specific application requirements but also has the flexibility to solve other access and maintenance issues in the industry.