Initial in the UK

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News 2010

Manchester Airport Wins Loo of the Year Award

12/02/2010

The toilets at Manchester Airport have received a five-star rating at this year’s Loo of the Year Awards. The public lavatories, cleaned by Initial Air Services, scooped the award for best airport toilets at the annual ceremony that was held at the National Motorcycle Museum, near Birmingham.

Secret visits were carried out by judges to rate the Manchester Airport facilities, which are serviced by a 300-strong team of toilet attendants that regularly tackle the 1,015 U-bends, 464 urinals and 1,021 sinks to keep them the some of the cleanest in the UK.

The airport deals with 20 million passengers each year, who go through 43,930,000 metres (27,297 miles) of toilet roll over the course of 12 months. If "unrolled" this would stretch to the equivalent distance of flying Manchester to Singapore four times.

Sarah Barrett, Head of Customer Experience at Manchester Airport said: "We are absolutely delighted to have earned this recognition because in order to meet the expectations of our customers, we must get the 'basics' right. The award extends to all of the cleaning staff - they are among the many unsung heroes of Manchester Airport."

Freda Smith, General Manager at Initial Air Services commented: “This award recognises the efforts of our cleaning staff whose dedication each day ensures that the facilities are maintained to a high level. We have been working with Manchester Airport for twenty-three years providing an extensive range of cleaning services to meet the diverse needs of the unique airport environment.”

The various categories in the competition received more than 1,500 entries, and each toilet was graded against 100 different criteria. The annual Loo of the Year Awards were started in 1987 and focus on 'away from home' toilet facilities throughout the UK.

Earlier this year, Initial Air Services also won Best Cleaned Premises – Transport Sector category at the Golden Service Awards 2009 for the dynamic cleaning solution it provides at Manchester Airport. The prestigious awards, organised by the Cleaning and Support Services Association (CSSA), recognise the high standards, best practise and innovation that is taking place within the cleaning sector.