ATR is enabling quick conversions of its passenger aircraft into auxiliary freighters
Romain Guillot
 le 07/05/2020 , Maintenance aéronautique
French-Italian regional aircraft manufacturer ATR has announced that it has developed two solutions allowing quick conversion of its passenger aircraft into auxiliary freighters to meet the growing air cargo demand during the pandemic crisis.
These solutions were developed in collaboration with the aeronautical branch of AKKA Technologies in Toulouse and with PMV Engineering.
The first solution consists in allowing medical goods to be transported on passenger seats, restrained with straps or loaded inside 'seat bags', allowing quick installation. The other, more capacitive solution called "floor-to-floor nets configuration" consists in removing the seats from the aircraft and placing the shipments directly on the floor, secured with nets attached to the seat tracks.
" Now more than ever, regional aviation plays a key role in transporting essential supplies from the world's largest cities to remote areas. Airlines have turned to us, asking for a quick solution to allow them to convert passenger into cargo aircraft. We have developed this solution in record time, and are now able to support airlines in unlocking further potential to move even more medical cargo " explained Fabrice Vautier, Senior Vice President Commercial, ATR.
"In less than a month we put together a transversal team with colleagues from Engineering, Customer Support and Commercial to work with two hand-picked external suppliers to come up and certify this efficient and flexible solution " he added.
ATR specifies that depending on the solution chosen for the conversion, an ATR 72 will be able to carry between 4 and 5 tonnes of payload, whether for transporting vital medical equipment, medicines, food or other essential supplies.
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