The Dutch Royal Schiphol Group has ambitious climate protection targets: Its airports are to be operated completely emission-free by 2030. In order to achieve this goal, the airport operator is focusing, among other things, on creating emission-free ground operations at take-off and landing areas and has now ordered 52 eBuses from MAN. From next year, the all-electric MAN Lion’s City 12 E buses will take travellers and crews from the terminals at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to their aircraft before take-off or pick them up after landing. Delivery of the first vehicles is planned for 2025. “We are proud that MAN is further expanding its cooperation with Schiphol in the area of passenger transportation and thus making a significant contribution to the ambitious zero-emission targets of our national airport,” said Sybren Hahn, Executive Director Infrastructure Schiphol.
Intelligent space concept guarantees quick entry and exit
Following an extensive tendering process, Schiphol decided in favour of the electric buses from MAN Truck & Bus. In addition to the environmental friendliness of the vehicles, the Lion’s City E impressed with its spaciousness, efficiency, range and reliability. “Our eBus is perfectly suited to meeting the increasing demand for passenger transport between aircraft and terminal,” says Heinz Kiess, Head of Product Marketing Bus at MAN Truck & Bus, adding: “Thanks to the intelligent space concept, our 12-metre solo bus can accommodate a maximum of up to 107 passengers.” In order to transport as many passengers as possible, the electric buses for Schiphol Airport are equipped with a small number of seats. In return, they have maximum standing room for passengers with hand luggage.
New MAN eBuses for even more comfort and reliability
Schiphol has been operating an all-electric bus fleet for ten years, making it one of the first airports in the Netherlands to switch to e-mobility. With the new generation of electric buses from MAN, the airport wants to take a decisive step forward in terms of passenger comfort while continuing to guarantee maximum reliability. “In the coming years, bus transportation will become increasingly important due to ever larger aircraft, among other things. This makes innovative and sustainable vehicles all the more important for us,” says Sybren Hahn.
More and more airports are opting for MAN Lion’s City E
With over 60 million passengers, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is the fourth largest airport in Europe. “We are proud that more and more major airports are opting for our MAN Lion’s City E. It clearly shows that the eBuses do a great job in city transport, but also in other areas of application,” emphasises Robert Katzer, Head of Sales & Product Bus at MAN Truck & Bus. Cologne-Bonn Airport, for example, already took delivery of MAN eBuses at the beginning of 2023. Munich Airport also recently ordered 49 fully electric Lion’s City E, with an option for a further 25 vehicles.
SOURCE: MAN Truck & Bus
