Heathrow, Manchester and Birmingham among 12 major airports to benefit from state-of-the-art carbon-busting vans

• Meet the new fleet of 33 Mercedes-Benz Vans supporting the world’s leading aviation services provider, Swissport, improve sustainability for employees and passengers.
• The vans have been fitted with bespoke airside conversions so crews, equipment and International Waste (ICW) can be moved directly to and from an aircraft.
• Mercedes-Benz Vans provide authorised aftercare and maintenance for Swissport’s eSprinter and eCitan fleet, supported by integrated service plans and specialist equipment requirements.

EMBARGO: 3 February 2025, London, UK:  These Mercedes-Benz Vans, custom-fitted locally, have been designed to bring down emissions for travellers and employees across the runways of Britain's busiest airports.

Swissport - the world’s leading aviation services company - commissioned Mercedes-Benz Vans to supply a fleet of 33 bespoke electric and low-emission vans built specifically for airside operations.

The vans feature multi-compartment cargo boxes for the safe transport of International Catering Waste (ICW), space for maintenance equipment and easy access for ground staff.

This allows crews and equipment to be moved directly to and from aircraft during time-critical turnaround, reducing delays on the apron while cutting airside emissions.

This means fewer emissions for passengers and airport workers, faster and safer handling of daily tasks and smaller environmental impact on the surrounding communities.

The fleet is a key part of Swissport’s sustainability strategy, which aims for 55% electric ground support equipment globally by 2032. As the aviation industry’s largest investor in electric fleet and carbon-reduction technology, Swissport is the world’s only global aviation services provider awarded EcoVadus Platinum rating – a distinction that places the company in the top 1% of organisations assessed globally across all industry sectors.

These vans are fully electric where possible and built to handle intensive airside duty cycles, delivering zero tailpipe emissions while maintaining the uptime needed for round-the-clock operations. Swissport is also working with airport partners to expand airside charging infrastructure to support the wider rollout of electric vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz Vans UK, in partnership with Dealer Group, Cicely Commercials, has delivered 32 vehicles across 12 major airports, including Heathrow, Manchester, and Birmingham. 

Several Sprinter Crew Chassis vans are fitted with purpose-built box bodies for transporting catering waste and cleaning crews. eSprinter electric models handle maintenance tasks and staff transfers, while the compact eCitan provides versatile day-to-day support across airside operations. Collectively, they cut emissions, improve operational efficiency and support safe, reliable airside operations.

Iain Forsyth, Managing Director at Mercedes-Benz Vans in the UK, said: “This once again shows how Mercedes-Benz Vans has the backs of customers operating in challenging, highly pressurised environments.

“We worked in partnership with Swissport so they’re able to meet strict operational and safety requirements, while also supporting long-term sustainability ambitions.

“It is also great to be trusted with the maintenance and servicing of this fleet - a testament to our long-standing reputation for quality and reliability. Our proven expertise and extensive service network ensure we deliver excellence in these critical areas, helping to make airside operations safer, more efficient, and more reliable.”

Karen Cox, CEO of Swissport, said: “This partnership with Mercedes-Benz demonstrates Swissport’s commitment to turning sustainability goals into operational reality across our UK operations.

“Working with a trusted partner gives us the reliability and innovation needed in our demanding 24/7 airport environments, while significantly reducing our environmental footprint.

“These vehicles are an important part of our contribution to Swissport’s industry-leading sustainability strategy – combining cutting-edge technology with the operational excellence our customers depend on every day.”

Mercedes-Benz Vans Dealer Group Ciceley Commercials supported the partnership by delivering customer service excellence, ensuring maximum fleet reliability, and leading on the specification, conversion, and rollout.

Andy Heys, Dealer Principal at Ciceley Commercials said: “Delivering vehicles for airside operations requires a deep understanding of compliance, conversion quality, and operational reliability, particularly as fleets transition to electric.

“This project demonstrates how the right partnerships can turn sustainability objectives into practical, day-to-day operations, supported by the aftersales capability needed to keep vehicles moving where uptime is critical.”

ENDS

The vans supplied to Swissport are split down into the following specifications:

Regional breakdown of where the vans are located across the UK:

The MobiloVan service covers unexpected challenges, such as technical breakdowns, part delays, accidents, replacement van services and several minor mishaps, including a lost car key. It’s available 24/7, free of charge for the first three years from the vehicle’s original registration date and is extended automatically when the vehicle is serviced by a Mercedes-Benz Authorised Repairer. It can continue to be extended for up to 30 years.

About Mercedes-Benz Vans in the UK
Mercedes-Benz has been manufacturing commercial vehicles for 120 years, from the world’s first motorised van in 1896 through to the electric vans of the future.  Today, Mercedes-Benz Vans offers an award-winning range of cargo and people-carrying vehicles. With a nationwide Dealer network made up of 93 sites, Mercedes Benz Vans UK has customer relationships going back as far as 1974, with hundreds of new customers joining the brand each year.

Mercedes-Benz Vans constantly drives change to keep businesses and lives moving with a focus on flexibility, safety, on-board technology and reliability.

For more information, visit https://www.mercedes-benz.co.uk/vans/en

About Swissport
In 2024, Swissport International AG provided best-in-class aviation services for some 247 million airline passengers (2023: 232 million), welcomed 5.9 million lounge guests (2023: 5.7 million), and handled roughly 5 million tons of air freight (2023: 4.7 million) at 117 air cargo centres worldwide. Several of its warehouses have been certified for pharmaceutical logistics by IATA’s CEIV Pharma and by the British MHRA. At the end of December 2024, the world leader in airport ground services and air cargo handling, with currently around 62,000 employees, was active at 279 airports in 45 countries on six continents.

For more information, visit https://www.swissport.com/