A LEADING York company is flying high after helping to create vital aircraft maintenance facilities and winning a national award.

Modular building specialist Portakabin has provided multiple buildings for a new flagship aircraft maintenance hangar at Gatwick Airport for airline easyJet.

The news comes after Portakabin celebrated being named UK Private Business of the Year in the PwC Private Business Awards.

Brian Henderson, partner and UK Private Business Awards leader at PwC, said: “Congratulations to Portakabin for winning the flagship Private Business of the Year award.

“The group has a fantastic heritage and has a long-standing pivotal role in both the UK construction industry and in British manufacturing.

“It continues to be the pioneer in offsite construction and to break new ground with the speed, scale, complexity, efficiency and sustainability of its building solutions.”

At Gatwick the company worked in partnership with easyJet and alongside Rubb Buildings, which designed and installed the twin-span hangar. The facility can accommodate up to two aircraft for light-base overnight maintenance.

About 1,000 square metres of accommodation were provided by Portakabin for 30 onsite staff to facilitate the maintenance of easyJet’s fleet of aircraft, which is carried out overnight, seven days a week.

Six Portakabin buildings were installed inside the hangar structure for two maintenance control stations, an additional office area, a locker room, toilets, showers and changing facilities, and a workshop.

A larger modular building is located externally, immediately adjacent to the hangar, for the storage of parts and tooling on the ground floor with offices, a canteen and a meeting room above. It features large picture windows overlooking the airfield and a vinyl wrap with easyJet and Lufthansa corporate branding.

Both the hangar and the Portakabin buildings were designed and constructed to give easyJet a fast, flexible and cost-effective solution for at least five years.

All the buildings can then easily be dismantled and re-purposed if required. This approach will allow easyJet to respond to potential future developments and uses for the site at Gatwick Airport.