Swissport adds more contracts and looks to enhance efficiencies

Swissport International is further expanding its business in the Middle East with new ground handling contracts with Dutch airline KLM and the largest Indian carrier IndiGo.
The ground handler will provide KLM with services in Dammam. IndiGo will initially be handled by Swissport at Jeddah, followed by Dammam and Riyadh.
As of 1 February, Swissport started to provide the full range of ground services from passenger services to ramp operations to KLM for its 10 weekly flights at King-Fahd Airport in Dammam.
The handler will serve KLM’s Airbus A330 widebody aircraft during the stopovers of flights between Amsterdam and Muscat, the capital of Oman. With KLM, the first major European carrier has opted for the company’s Saudi affiliate.
As of 15 March 2019, Swissport will handle Indian carrier IndiGo’s daily Airbus A320 flights at Jeddah, followed by Dammam in April and Riyadh in September, supporting the carrier’s growth in the region.
In addition, the handler has started operations with flydubai, Jordan Aviation, Fly Baghdad and Sun Express for airport ground services in Jeddah. On 1 January 2019, the handler also began serving SalamAir at Muscat International Airport in Oman.
Meanwhile in the UK, Swissport has been awarded a new five-year ground handling contract by low-cost carrier easyJet to continue delivering services at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, which it started in January. This sees it provide passenger and baggage handling services for over 2.4 million customers and ramp handling for over 8,000 easyJet flights a year.
Along with Liverpool, the company handles for easyJet at 19 airports in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Spain, Morocco and Israel.
With an ever-expanding network of stations and contracts, Swissport is looking to further boost performance and efficiencies after signing a five-year agreement with Honeywell to deploy the GoDirect Ground service across its global operation.
The technology created in partnership with global telematics company Pinnacle, enables users to connect ramp support services used for airport-based ground transportation vehicles giving ground handlers and airlines real-time insight into vehicle use and maintenance requirements.
Swissport says GoDirect Ground will enable it to connect the ramps it uses at airports, which will unlock efficiencies and provide real-time insight into the activity of ground-based equipment used at airports.
This includes vehicles undertaking aircraft loading and unloading, baggage sorting and passenger or crew transportation. Following a successful proof of concept demonstration at five of its ground handling stations earlier this year, the handlers evaluated the benefits of Ground and found it will provide an estimated 13 per cent reduction in repair and maintenance costs, a better understanding of driver behaviours and identification of the most commonly driven pathways at airports.