ORLANDO, Fla. — Officials with the Orlando International Airport have brought in a watchdog to make sure the airport’s new trams get passengers to their gates on time without breaking down.
Starting in the spring of 2017, Eyewitness News has reported several stories about the new trams, which are manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, failing while in service. The trams involved travel between the security checkpoint for gates 1-59 and airsides 1 and 3, which together house gates for American, United, Spirit, JetBlue, Frontier and other airlines.
Documents obtained from the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority this week indicated a total of eight breakdowns lasting longer than 15 minutes. A total payout to the airport of $800,000 is made up of eight individual $100,000 payments mandated under such circumstances by the contract between Mitsubishi and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.
At least one incident resulted in delays long enough to cause people to miss their flights.
Late last year, GOAA Chief Operating Officer Stan Thornton proposed using the $800,000 from Mitsubishi to cover the costs of a roughly $600,000 contract under which tram monitoring company Lea + Elliott would watch over Mitsubishi’s employees contracted to operate and maintain the new trams over the course of the next year. The GOAA board eventually approved the arrangement.
Thornton on Monday told Channel 9's Field Sutton that having Lea + Elliott watching over the workers would be more efficient than diverting GOAA employees to handle the task.
GOAA has also implemented revised contingency plans in case a tram breakdown does leave an airside building disconnected from the terminal going forward. Those plans include a staff of bus drivers on call 24 hours a day to drive passengers to the appropriate places.
.@MCO is hiring the Lea + Elliott company to essentially watchdog Mitsubishi workers who are responsible for maintaining the newer trams, which have a history of breaking down and stranding passengers. #WFTV pic.twitter.com/L6Bdu5q3j5
— Field Sutton (@EFieldSutton) January 22, 2018
Meanwhile, @MCO has beefed up its contingency plans. Staffing has increased for buses to move passengers in the event of a tram breakdown. #WFTV
— Field Sutton (@EFieldSutton) January 22, 2018
To Mitsubishi's credit, the rollout of additional trams last fall and into this winter seems to have gone smoothly. @MCO says lessons learned on the first tram paid off eventually. #WFTV
— Field Sutton (@EFieldSutton) January 22, 2018
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