A short history of MAN airbridges
Lots of questions about the heritage of MAN's airbridges above. Here are the answers:
1974 - Pier C opens, gates 21-27 with Aviobridges of both static nose-loader and full drive type. Dutch design but actually built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast! These were refurbished in the late 1980s with new heads and control systems. True classics but they work well enough.
1986- Pier C satellite opens, gates 28-32. Jetway (USA) static (@ gate 28) and full drive double bridges.
1989 - 'Terminal A' opens. A self-contained domestic mini-terminal on the footprint of the old 1962 'domestic' pier. Jetway single head full drive bridges on Gates 42,4 6,and 48 (old numbering, now 41, 42, and 43).
1993 - Terminal 2 opens, with 14 Jetway single-head full drive bridges.
1995-6. B pier revamped as 'Superhub'. Jetway single-head full drive bridges fitted to Gates 6, 8 and 10. Superhub concept abandoned in the late 1990s.
1997 - T1BA opens with single head static and full drive bridges from TEAM, a now defunct Spanish manufacturer. Three have recently been removed and scrapped (gates 47, 50 and 52). This terminal was later branded T3BA, and then just T3 when BA abandoned plans for a MAN hub.
2010 - B Pier Stand 12 redeveloped and fitted with two full drive Chinese-built Jetways. No.2 is A380 upper deck-capable, and the bridges can serve 12L and 12R respectively in split MARS mode.
2011/2 - Replacement of double bridges at gates 29, 31,and 32 with new Chinese-built Jetways. Gate 31 and 32 installation will have technology to prevent them being driven into eachother, which has been a long-standing problem at these gates.
That's the brain-dump, don't think I've missed anything!
Last edited by roverman; 6th Dec 2011 at 22:08.