A union of companies formed by Globalia, SAS (through Aviapartner) and Menzies has been awarded the ground service contract at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández airport, along with other medium and large-sized terminals such as Palma de Mallorca or Barcelona. These companies will take over this task from Iberia, which had been providing the service both to its own connections (which it will maintain as before) and to third parties.
This Tuesday, Aena completed the process to assign the licences (41 out of 43) that allow airlines to offer ground assistance services in the ramp category, in compliance with European regulations. From the assignment of these licences, airlines must establish a commercial relationship with the operators, although they may also request to provide the service to themselves (autohandling) under the terms and conditions established.
Although Aena is not involved in the commercial relationship between the handling operators holding the new licences and the airlines, this assignment guarantees that these contracts contribute to the quality, sustainability and competitiveness of the airports. Ground assistance to third parties includes, among other tasks, baggage assistance, assistance with operations on the runway and assistance with cargo and mail between the terminal and the plane. Fuel assistance services are left out of this process, which will be tendered in another process.
Thus, Iberia, which had been providing this service, has been left out of the service of some of the main airports in the country, although it maintains Madrid, and has won the management of other medium and small aerodromes after the closing of the public tender convened by the airport manager Aena. The company has renewed 41 licences for 43 airports and two heliports for a period of seven years, in which the turnover could exceed 5 billion euro, the largest contract in the world, according to the company.
Specifically, Iberia will stop providing this service to third parties at the airports of Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Málaga, Alicante, Gran Canaria, Tenerife South, Ibiza and Bilbao. Meanwhile, it maintains those in Madrid (the largest Spanish airport), Tenerife North, Menorca, Santiago, Girona, Asturias, La Palma and Zaragoza.
It has also been awarded handling management at the airports of Vitoria, Reus, Valladolid, San Sebastián, A Coruña, Santander, Vigo, Burgos, Pamplona, Huesca, Logroño, Salamanca, León, Jerez, Almería, Murcia, Granada, Badajoz, Melilla, Córdoba and Albacete. However, Iberia does what is called autohandling in 35% of its services, of which 27% is provided to the IAG group (to which it belongs along with British Airways, Vueling, Aer Lingus and Level) and 8% is provided to offers to third parties, according to Aena figures.
Aviapartner (SAS) and Groundforce (Globalia), together with Menzies, have been assigned El Prat in Barcelona and have also been awarded contracts in Málaga, Palma and Alicante. Globalia assumes 12 contracts. The successful bidders have the obligation to take over the workforce, which totals more than 11,000 people, in the event that the airport changes the baggage operator.
