The Clece/South consortium, winner of the ground handling competition, plans a “smooth transition” at Lisbon, Porto and Faro airports and wants to ensure the continuity of workers, according to IAG.
In written responses sent to Lusa, IAG – which, through Iberia, owns the handling company South Europe, part of the winning consortium – stated that its “priority is to guarantee continuity and stability at all airports covered by the contract”.
“The transition of all current employees is central to our operational planning and to ensure a smooth transition”, guaranteed an official company source.
The workers in question are those currently working at SPdH, provider of ground handling services at airports. The former Groundforce is 50.1% owned by the British Menzies Aviation and 49.9% by TAP.
Asked about possible conflicts of interest in the context of the privatization of TAP, taking into account that the IAG group – owner of British Airways and Iberia – is among the potential interested parties, the same source ruled out any incompatibility.
“We do not see any conflict of interest between our ground handling operations and the ongoing privatization process of TAP. This model is very common in global aviation, with airlines owning ‘handling’ companies that provide services to third parties”, stated IAG.
The group even pointed to international examples such as dnata, from the Emirates group, Unifi Aviation, owned by Delta Air Lines and Argenbright, and South itself, which operates in 38 European airports and provides services to companies outside the IAG universe.
Regarding future investments in Portugal within the scope of this competition, he indicated that the consortium is still in the final stage of negotiating the contractual details, with the documentation and transition plans being analyzed by the Portuguese authorities.
“Once the contract is formally concluded, we may consider releasing plans for future projects,” he added.
The National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) awarded the Clece/South consortium – which brings together the Spanish company Clece, a general services company, and South Europe Ground Services – the license to provide ground handling services at Lisbon, Porto and Faro airports for a period of seven years, surpassing SPdH’s proposal.
To ensure continuity of service, the Government extended the current licenses in November until May 19, 2026.
Regarding the start of operations, IAG clarified that it will not be before that date, although the exact start date has not yet been defined.
“All transition processes are underway and the start date of operations has yet to be confirmed,” he stated.
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