Inverness Airport’s new Nissan Navara fire command vehicle alongside the airport’s 32-tonne airport fire appliance

If you drove 2,000 miles a month, you’d probably expect to be covering some distance away from your home or work. But Stornoway Airport’s new Nissan Navara covers this distance every month without leaving the airport site.

The main reason for this is that the specially-equipped pick-up acts as a mobile bird scarer, fitted with high-powered external speakers, that’s used to clear huge colonies of birds away from the runway at Stornway Airport, which is on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Herbrides.

The truck is part of a diverse 100-strong fleet operated by Highlands and Islands Airport Ltd, which is responsbie for operating most of the airports scattered across the Scottish Highlands, Northern Isles and Western Isles.

Another recently-purchased Navara has been kitted out as a specialist fire command vehicle – complete with blue light pack and ground to tower radio system – and is now in operation with highly trained firefighters at Inverness Airport.

Paul Rodden, Chief Engineer and fleet manager at Highlands and Islands Airports, said:

“We went through a procurement procedure three years ago and Nissan came out on top. They were the only manufacturer that could supply vehicles that met our brief.

“Since then we’ve not been disappointed – the vehicles we’ve had have been up to any job and Nissan and Dicksons have been great at helping us maintain the fleet, much of which is scattered across remote areas where there are no dealerships.”

The Navara is available with a choice of 2.5dCi and 3.0 V6 dCi diesel engines. It has a payload of up to 1,250kg and a towing capacity of 3,000kg.