The only specialist slip-testing programme in the UK built around airport operations — from Heathrow Terminal 5 to Alderney's single apron. UKAS ISO/IEC 17025 accredited, scheduled around your operational rhythm, court-admissible.
Built around airport operations
Airports operate the most varied flooring vocabulary of any UK building type — terminal-grade polished porcelain meets airside concrete, jet-bridge composite, baggage-hall terrazzo and apron stand surfaces. Each carries a distinct PTV profile under wet, contaminated or de-icing residue conditions.
Polished porcelain & terrazzo concourse — large-format hard surfaces in central streets and gate-room circulation. Performs well dry but can drop sharply in wet PTV depending on cleaning chemistry. We test under the actual cleaning regime in use, not a manufacturer's idealised one.
Polished stone arrivals halls & forecourts — entrance-mat run-off zones are the single highest-incident slip area in most UK airports. We test the realistic wet-shoe-carry-out condition at every airport entrance.
Travelators, jet bridges & inter-terminal transits — the entry and exit threshold of every travelator is a defined high-incident zone. Jet-bridge tunnel floors face seasonal anti-slip coating wear that benefits from 18–24 month testing rather than annual.
Reclaim hall transitions & belt surrounds — polished-stone-to-rubber transitions at every baggage carousel are a defined-risk zone. Belt-side lighting and damp luggage create a wet-condition exposure most testing scope misses.
Apron stands, hardstands & crew walkways — concrete with Jet-A1 fuel-residue exposure and seasonal de-icing fluid carryover. PTV regimes need winter and summer evidence separately, not annual averaging.
Catering, kitchens, baggage make-up & MRO hangars — greasy-shod testing using slider 55 (4S rubber) for staff zones. PAS 13 walkway compliance for crew-only routes.
Generic slip-test providers send the same report regardless of building type. Aviation surfaces face exposure conditions that simply don't exist in hotels, retail or healthcare — and they need testing accordingly.
Aviation kerosene contamination on apron and stand surfaces creates wet-PTV degradation patterns specific to airside operations. Testing must reflect post-turnaround surface condition, not freshly-cleaned baseline.
Type I, Type II and Type IV de-icing fluids leave residue on apron, stand and crew-walkway surfaces from October to March. Winter PTV evidence is non-negotiable for any airport with live winter ops.
The transition from rubber tread to floor finish at every travelator is the single highest-incident slip zone in most terminals. Wheeled-luggage involvement increases both incident frequency and claim severity.
Anti-slip coatings on jet-bridge tunnel floors degrade with seasonal wear at different rates than terminal floors. Schedule jet-bridge PTV evidence on a 18–24 month cycle separately from main terminal.
Polished-stone-to-rubber transitions at baggage carousels create reclaim-hall slip patterns distinct from any other airport zone — specific testing brief, specific cleaning regime, specific evidence required.
International arrivals doors funnel rain across polished floors during inclement weather. Entrance-mat run-off zones at major UK airport entrances need quarterly inspection through autumn and winter.
Airports with significant cargo or maintenance operations (East Midlands, Prestwick, Doncaster, Stansted) face heavy-vehicle and maintenance-fluid contamination patterns that require distinct testing scope.
Aberdeen, Norwich and other rotary-wing-active airports see fuel-residue patterns on helideck and adjacent apron zones unlike fixed-wing operations. Rotary apron testing is a specialist sub-discipline.
Airport testing isn't standard FM contracting — it requires SMS familiarity, airside-cleared personnel and operational scheduling around aircraft turnarounds. Here's how we deliver.
Initial scoping call & site walk-through. We agree the testing scope (terminals, piers, jet bridges, aprons), zones in scope, cleaning regimes in operation, target surfaces and any incident-driven zones requiring priority attention. Quotation issued within one working day.
Airside passes & SMS briefing. Our team holds standing airside-pass arrangements at major UK airports. For first-time access, we coordinate with your airside training team for the specific airport's SMS induction.
On-site testing scheduled around operational lulls. Most airport visits are scheduled 02:00–05:00 to avoid passenger disruption. Apron and airside testing is scheduled around your operational pattern. Testing performed under BS 7976-2 / BS EN 16165:2021 / UKSRG Issue 6.
UKAS-accredited test report delivered within 5 working days. Test point register, photographic evidence, PTV values per zone, conformity statement against UKSRG guidance, and remediation recommendations where required.
Annual or 6-monthly programme management. Most airport clients move to a rolling programme after the first year — single contract, scheduled visits, group-level dashboard across multiple airports for multi-site operators.
Airport testing pricing depends on scope — single-zone post-incident testing typically falls in the £600–£1,200 range, while a comprehensive multi-terminal or multi-pier programme can be in the £3,000–£12,000 range per visit depending on test points and out-of-hours requirements. Multi-airport group programmes attract negotiated rates.
We provide fixed-price written quotations within one working day. No per-test charges, no hidden access surcharges.
Our technicians hold standing airside passes at all major UK and Irish airports. For first-time access, we coordinate with your airside training team for site-specific SMS induction in advance of the visit. We carry airside-compliant PPE, hi-vis, and our test equipment is pre-cleared for airside operation. Out-of-hours apron access is scheduled in coordination with your airfield operations team.
We recommend annual testing as a baseline for terminal interior surfaces, with high-risk zones (entrances, baggage halls, jet-bridge thresholds, travelator transitions) tested every 6–12 months. Apron and airside surfaces benefit from winter and summer separate testing due to de-icing residue exposure. Additional testing should be triggered after a reportable slip incident, refurbishment, change of cleaning chemistry, or insurer-driven request.
Airport testing is performed under BS 7976-2 / BS EN 16165:2021 (the British and European pendulum test standard), UKSRG Issue 6 (2024) (UK Slip Resistance Group guidelines), HSE Slip Assessment Tool, and UKAS ISO/IEC 17025 (lab accreditation). For BOH and crew zones we additionally apply PAS 13 walkway code of practice.
Yes. Our UKAS-accredited reports are issued in formats accepted by the major UK and Irish airport SMS frameworks. We also issue summary dashboards suitable for upload into airport-group SMS platforms. For multi-airport operators (MAG, AGS, daa), we issue group-level annual summary reports alongside per-airport detail.
We hold UKAS ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, issued and audited by UKAS — the only national accreditation body recognised by the UK Government. The difference matters: many slip-test providers display ISO logos but are not UKAS-accredited, which makes a decisive difference when test data is presented to a court, insurer, or in CAA Mandatory Occurrence Reporting evidence chains.
Whether you operate a single regional airport, a multi-airport group, an airside concession or a ground-handling business, we'll return a fully-costed, no-obligation quotation within one working day.
02:00–05:00 visits scheduled by arrangement.
Airside-pass-cleared technicians.