Aviapartner is the winner of the tender round for Airport Ground Services in Spain. Aviapartner will offer their services in 12 of the 15 largest Spanish airports, including Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga and Alicante. These new licenses reinforce the European leadership of Aviapartner, who already serves airlines and passengers in close to 65 airports in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and soon Switzerland.
The Spanish airports owner AENA, listed in Madrid, announced the results of the license renewal process for all Spanish airports for the next seven years. Already present in seven Spanish airports since 2015, including Málaga, Seville, Menorca and three Canary Islands, the privately owned Belgian group is now adding nine airports including Madrid and Barcelona (respectively 4th and 5th largest EU airports) as well as Valencia, Alicante, Ibiza and Bilbao.
This is an important signal for Aviapartner, as Spain is the European Union's number one country in terms of annual passengers.
A Sustainable Success
The successful tender round in Spain is a recognition of the strong focus of Aviapartner on quality, sustainability, safety and competitiveness. It confirms the status of Aviapartner as an international reference, a reliable and internationally experienced airlines and airports partner. The election also has a “green glow,” since sustainability criteria have been included for the first time in this Spanish tender. Aviapartner has committed, among other things, to fully electrify their fleet of ramp equipment during the license period.
The new Spanish permits will enter into force in April 2024. AENA ultimately received 168 bids from fifteen different Spanish and foreign airport service providers. These 168 proposals have been assessed on rigorous criteria regarding quality, innovation, sustainability and competitiveness.
Staff will be Retained
The workforce transfer is guaranteed in Spain, which is not always the case in other countries. The Collective Labor Agreement (CLA) for Airport Ground Services in Spain obliges the new license holders to take over the workforce of the previous operators in each airport. Thanks to this Collective Agreement, not only the continuity of services is better guaranteed, it also valorizes the knowhow of the staff and their interests are taken into account.
Over 25,000 people are employed in Airport Ground Services in Spain.
More Good News in Munich
Aviapartner also got confirmed it will be providing Airport Ground Services at the airport of Munich for the next seven years, replacing Swissport.
Munich is the second largest airport in Germany after Frankfurt and the sixth largest of the EU. It expects about 50 million passengers in 2024. The license Aviapartner obtained takes effect from 1 March 2024.
