The world's busiest airport has deployed technology made by a Manchester firm to ensure its entire fuel hydrant system is safe.
Atmos International's product will be used at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which had over 110m people come through its gates last year, and uses over a billion gallons of fuel annually equating to 2,500 flights and 3m gallons of fuel a day.
The Atmos Portable Tightness Monitor (APTM) system produced by Atmos has "revolutionized" how the airport’s fuel farm operators and management undertake testing of their hydrant systems.
With three fuel farms, including the City of Atlanta tank farm, ensuring the product is getting to the fuel hydrants cleanly and safely is crucial, Atmos said.
Previously, fuel hydrant leak detection tests would take up to eight hours and require external suppliers and contractors to come onto the airfield.
Atmos’ APTM can deliver high-quality testing within 15 minutes from set-up and utilizes an easy and portable all-in-one computer case.
This means on-site operators from the City of Atlanta can undertake multiple tests with as little as a pick-up truck and two or three employees, meaning flight delays due to hydrant tightness tests are now reduced significantly.
Justin Deadwyler, City of Atlanta's fuel farm manager, said: “Working with Atmos has been great. Everyone on the team is very professional and understands our business very well. They don't skip a beat.
“On-site the Atmos engineers are very knowledgeable about the industry and what we're trying to accomplish at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International.”
Dean Golba, head of aviation for Atmos International added: “We set out to provide a fully flexible tightness monitoring system that aids fuel farm management.
"The APTM packs a lot of powerful tools into a compact package, especially with the 2020 upgrade featuring our built-in 4G comms capabilities.
“Our focus is to apply our fresh thinking to the challenges of the aviation fuel industry.”
