Yesterday was the last day of Ground Handling International Conference, the annual meeting considered to be the biggest ground handling event.

 

From 4 to 7 November, the world's leading players in ground handling industry met to discuss the state of the art and the most relevant issues impacting the business.

 

This year’s 21th edition was attended by more than 750 participants from around the world, who came to acknowledge the latest technological solutions and the most innovative products to meet common and global needs.

 

Operational excellence, safety, the new SGHA 2018 - Standard Ground Handling Agreement but also digital transformation, sustainability, the new generation of workers and talent retention were some of the topics discussed at the conference, where the best practices and the trailblazers of future trends were presented and discussed.

 

This forum also lead to an open dialogue about the concerns that our industry faces, especially the technological revolution and new global dynamics - Brexit, airline bankruptcy, the rise of new companies or groups of companies as a result of mergers or acquisitions, among other challenges that directly affect our activity.

 

This year, Groundforce Portugal was the keynote speaker at the Conference in several occasions.

 

In the first session, a panel discussion of airlines representatives and other handlers analyzed the results of an industry report on the rates charged for A320 rotation and what they mean for business competitiveness.

 

Arafat Tayob, General Director, participated in the “Big Debate - How much to turn an A320?” from the company's perspective, demonstrating the shift potential from the lowest cost paradigm to creating partnerships with customers, based on value creation.

 

On the same day, Arafat presented a session on Groundforce Portugal's high-performance levels in a demanding and stressful environment, with an average annual growth of 1 million passengers at Lisbon Airport.

 

“What do Airlines Need?” was the presentation’s motto,  making it very clear to all participants Groundforce Portugal’s high capacity to transform and adapt to future challenges, improving year after year, flight after flight, its KPI, on time and efficient delivery and bringing value to Customers.

 

In a provocative tone, the audience was asked about the destiny of the business - Is ground handling doomed to disappear? And the answer was: if we can adapt the business to the very fast paced demands of tomorrow, there will always be a place in the future for dynamic companies, focused on delivering excellency, with the ability and flexibility to reinvent and adjust to customer needs.

 

The conference is also a key venue for networking among airline representatives and decision makers, providing excellent business opportunities, and enabling companies to share services to business partners, and a unique showroom for new products that can improve business performance, efficiency and operational safety.

 

Continuing its growth trajectory as a major brand in the global market, Groundforce Portugal presented itself at this conference with its own space, where it met with customers and suppliers in a professional and high impact environment.

 

For Paulo Neto Leite, attending the GHI Annual Conference “It is a unique opportunity to contribute to the development of the sector and to add value to the business, preparing us to face emerging opportunities or threats.”

 

Regarding the role of Groundforce Portugal, the CEO once again assumes: “What our attitude should be, and what has been our differentiating factor: transparent, effective and innovative goals.

These have been the pillars of our growth and of our presence in the market and these are the pillars that have allowed us to grow and be recognized as a global player. We have a team that is already well-soaked in this spirit and knows how to add value to our customers' performance with a reliable, consistent and high-quality service approach. Therefore, we will continue to focus on being a preferred business partner, building strong synergies with our business partners.”

 

In the presence of other leading handlers, such as Swissport, Menzies, Fraport, Aviapartner, among others, Groundforce Portugal has appeared as a dynamic and determined company and, more than ever, ready to be an international reference.