Swissport has been appointed ground handler for Air New Zealand in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, following a competitive tender focused on safety, service and operational performance.

Swissport has been appointed ground handler for Air New Zealand in four major airports in Australia, following a competitive tender focussed on safety, service and operational performance. The contract win means Swissport will handle 8,000 additional flights in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth each year and signals further growth for the organisation in the Pacific region. 

Swissport Pacific CEO Glenn Rutherford said the new long-term contract meant more than 250 new staff in Australia and employees would benefit in an investment of more than $13 million in training, skills development and specialist equipment.  

“Working with Air New Zealand marks a further expansion of Swissport’s presence in the Pacific region and further confirms our role as the region’s fastest growing ground handler. We’re proud to expand our partnership with Air New Zealand, one of the world’s most awarded and innovative airlines. We’re committing an additional $13m in training, skills development and specialist equipment and will continue to focus on ongoing development opportunities for our team of three thousand plus employees,” he said. 

The Swissport and Air New Zealand contract in Melbourne and Sydney starts in November, in Brisbane in February and operations in Perth start in March next year. Swissport plans to introduce efficient, environmentally-friendly, electric vehicles wherever possible. 

Air New Zealand group’s global network provides air passenger services and cargo transport services to, from and within New Zealand to more than 15 million passengers a year.  

Swissport International AG,on behalf of more than 850 client-companies, provides best-in-class airport ground services for some 265 million passengers annually and handles approximately 4.7 million tonnes of air cargo at 133 warehouses world-wide. Several of its warehouses have been certified for Pharmaceutical Logistics by IATA’s CEIV. With a workforce of 68,000, the world’s leading provider of ground and air cargo services, is active at 315 airports in 50 countries across all five continents. In 2017 the group generated consolidated operating revenue of EUR 2.8 billion.