The first Goldhofer electric towbarless aircraft tractor has been delivered to Lufthansa LEOS for its Frankfurt airport operations.

This follows successful completion of trials of the Phoenix E in Munich, Vienna, Zurich and Los Angeles, and Goldhofer Airport Technology celebrated a milestone shortly before Christmas, as the first unit of the electric towbarless aircraft tractor left the company’s production plant in Memmingen, Germany, for delivery to Lufthansa LEOS. This is also a milestone for Frankfurt Airport, and a big step forward on the road to emission-free ground handling there, said Goldhofer.

The Phoenix E towbarless aircraft tractor has also been shortlisted for the German Sustainability Award 2021 and is the flagship of the Goldhofer tow tractor fleet. The company says it is a powerful performer, offering speeds of up to 32kmh for maintenance tows. It also has the versatility to handle the full range of today’s aircraft up to a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 352t.

According Goldhofer, the e-version comes with the company’s tried-and-tested IonMaster technology, a high-performance electric drive that works with efficient 700 V lithium-ion batteries and is engineered to the highest standards of safety. In addition, the TMS system (Thermo Management System), which is part of the IonMaster concept, delivers very short charging times, and supports fast and opportunity charging at all standard AC and DC charging points up to 150kW.