Thank you TURIN for your reasoned response.
A question for you or others with the internal knowledge - if handling agents have "spare" unused equipment, at another base, how easy/economical would it be to reposition it to another airport? I appreciate that this is only part of the logistical problem (you need to take into account staffing etc) but it's a starting point to hopefully move the discussion forward without creating bad rhetoric.
Finally can I take this opportunity to wish everyone a very peaceful, if very different, Christmas.