I can have a little sympathy with the BAA on this one.
Are the TGWU advocating that it is OK for aircraft to be forced to divert because the highly trained Airfield Fire Service are depleted due to them putting out a toaster fire in a bar within the terminal landside ??? Or for an aircraft to land without much warning in an emergency situation and find that the fire crews are still organising themselves after dealing with something in Sock Shop ??
The primary role of these guys is surely to provide a service to the aircraft using the airport and nothing should divert them away from this task.
Whilst I am sure that in life or death circumstances or a major incident then things can be dealt with tactically, at the end of the day the terminal is no different from a shopping mall, department store, or any other commercial operation. Does it really need a dedicated fire service on site when every where else makes do with publicly provided services ?
Just a pebble in the pond
