Swissport Wins Ethiopian and Aegean Airlines as New Customers in Switzerland

Ethiopian Airlines and Aegean Airlines and have awarded Swissport the opportunity to provide airport ground services for their flights in Switzerland. Swissport will start servicing Ethiopian Airlines at Zurich and Geneva airports from March 2024. The cooperation with Aegean Airlines will begin from June 30, 2024.

The two new contracts with the carriers cover passenger and ramp services.

Ethiopian Airlines: Airport Ground Services and Air Cargo Handling

Swissport has been successful in winning Ethiopian Airlines as a new customer at Zurich and Geneva airports and will provide full airport ground services for the East African airline such as passenger and ramp services at both locations. At Geneva Airport, Swissport also is responsible for the handling of the airline`s air cargo. In total, Swissport will provide airport ground services for 14 weekly flights of the airline at both airports. Ethiopian Airlines operates flights from Zurich to Addis Ababa via Milan Malpensa with Boeing 787-8 and Airbus A350 aircraft. Geneva is served by Ethiopian Airlines with a Boeing 787-8 as a stopover on the Addis Ababa - Manchester route.

"With Ethiopian Airlines we have won Africa's largest and most important airline as a customer. Since Swissport is already providing airport ground services for the airline at Rome-Fiumicino and many other airports around the globe, we are delighted that Ethiopian Airlines has now also decided to work with us in Zurich and Geneva thanks to our strong customer focus," says Bruno Stefani, CEO of the DACH, Italy and France region.

In 2023, Swissport handled a total of 2,796 passenger flights and 5,224 cargo flights for Ethiopian Airline globally. The airline's passenger traffic comprised 141,000 arriving and 206,000 departing passengers, while 69,148 tons of cargo were processed at 33 airports worldwide.

Aegean Airlines: Passenger and Ramp Services in Zurich

From the end of June 2024, Swissport will take over airport ground services for more than 750 annual flights operated by Aegean Airlines from Zurich. The flight activity varies with the seasons; notably, the airline operates a substantially higher number of flights at Zurich Airport during the summer months compared to the winter season. Aegean Airlines serves Zurich Airport primarily with A320 aircraft from and flies to several destinations in Greece, such as Athens, Thessaloniki and Heraklion. Swissport already provides check-in, boarding, baggage handling and de-icing services for the Greek carrier at Geneva and Basel airports.

"We are delighted that Aegean Airlines has chosen Swissport as its service provider in Zurich due to our proven quality standards and the excellent relationship. This is an important vote of confidence for us from Greece's largest airline. With the new contract we continue to expand our customer portfolio in the highly competitive market at Zurich Airport," says Andreas Keller, managing director Switzerland and France of Swissport International AG.

In 2023, Swissport handled a total of 2,769 passenger and 2,430 cargo flights for Aegean Airlines worldwide. The company managed 1,150 tons of freight worldwide and provided services for around 450,000 departing and arriving passengers at 22 airports.

In general, Swissport recorded strong growth worldwide in 2023. The company provided airport ground services for 3.9 million flights and served 232 million passengers worldwide, including over 280,000 flights and more than 33 million passengers in Switzerland.