OTW Safety Barricades at the Orlando Executive Airport
At just a few miles from Downtown Orlando’s financial center, Orlando Executive Airport is the perfect touchdown for corporate travelers.
Orlando Executive Airport, operated by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA), is a 24 hour General Aviation (GA) airport complete with a FAA air traffic control tower, a Customs and Border Protection facility, and full ILS capability. While OEA serves its General Aviation and Corporate Aviation travelers year-round, it also functions as an event-space from time to time. In the past, the Orlando Executive Airport has hosted 5k fundraising runs and walks, business and aviation exhibitions and most recently, the 2022 Special Olympics Airlift.
The Special Olympics Airlift occurs every four years, preceding the start of the United States Special Olympic Games. In order to facilitate the private transport of 800 athletes and coaches on Textron Aviation aircraft in a single day, the airport needed to coordinate the arrival and departure of over 120 Cessna Citation, Beechjet and Hawker business jets.
This is where OTW Safety comes in.
As major proponents of airport safety and community support, the OTW Safety team offered to sponsor this year’s Special Olympics Airlift with Low-Profile Airport Barricades, Flags, Billboard Barricades and Custom Signage.
Our Low-Profile Airport Barricades were utilized to create visible consecutive lanes for the aircraft pilots, who were on strict schedules due to the sheer amount of jets arriving and departing to pick up more Special Olympics athletes and coaches. In addition, each lane was clearly marked with a numbered flag in safety orange. These flags also indicated directions to the volunteers who waited to greet the athletes on the tarmac.
According to airport manager Gary Trotta, the Low-Profile Barricades exceeded expectations of the airport staff, Textron Aviation team and pilots.
“The size is perfect! They clearly noted each arrival for the airport lane and there was absolutely no confusion among pilots thanks to the clear paths. Every product is durable! They withstand tests of being thrown around by jet blasts when they are not ballasted, dropped, slid across the ground – everything! The best part, they’re easy to set up.”
And what of the crowd control barricades?
OTW Safety crowd control barricades, displaying Textron Aviation and OTW Safety logos, were positioned on the border between the tarmac and pedestrian-friendly areas to keep spectators safe. Further, they created a secure designated pathway to the Customs and Border Control facility which served as a volunteer hub during the event.
In the end, the Orlando Executive Airport manager decided to hold onto 25 of our Low-Profile Barricades and in addition, order Dual-Mode Airport Hazard Lights to use for future events, closures and construction projects.
We are grateful for the opportunity to have partnered with the Orlando Executive Airport and Textron Aviation to ensure the safety of the Special Olympics Airlift and all involved.
Thanks to the hard work and perfect coordination of the Special Olympics Airlift team, this event will go down as the largest airlift in peacetime history! Not only that, the final flights were able to complete their trips in Hurricane wind and rain. What an incredible event.
“OTW Safety was a tremendous partner for the highly successful Special Olympics Airlift operation at Orlando Executive Airport! We can’t say enough great things about how their products assisted the safe and efficient operation in and out of our airport’s East Ramp. Using the low profile airport barricades to denote each arrival lane ensured each pilot knew exactly where to go and that their aircraft was properly marked for ground crew operators. The team at OTW provides great customer service and quickly gets back to us with specifics on their products.
We look forward to the continued use of our durable high quality low profile barricades on future airport projects and events!”Gary Trotta, A.A.E., Manager, Orlando Executive Airport
