Lufthansa Consulting will evaluate the ground handling requirements at Baghdad InternationalAirport, the capital's main airport and the country's main international gateway as well as at the international airports in Basra and Mosul.
After two wars and many years of disruption, which have caused considerable damage
to the airports' facilities, Iraq's aviation system is now going through a phase of
reconstruction, and the situation at the airports is also returning to normal. Regular air
services are slowly being resumed, and plans are underway to renovate and expand
the airports. The Ministry of Transport, the Iraq Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA), and the
national carrier Iraqi Airways have a strong interest in establishing ground handling
operations at the three airports that meet international standards in preparation for the
increase in traffic flows and the airlines' requirements – ranging from aircraft handling
to the processing of passengers and their baggage.
This challenging project started at the end of August and is currently still in progress.
In Phase One of the project, Lufthansa Consulting is developing an action plan. An
experienced team of experts conducted intensive assessments of the local airport
facilities at Baghdad, Basra and Mosul by inspecting the relevant processes and
procedures, as well as performed numerous interviews with all stakeholders related to
ground operations. The consultants will offer recommendations for improvements in all
the relevant fields of ground handling operations.
In Phase Two, Lufthansa Consulting will be responsible for managing the tender
procedure and for tendering the ground handling licenses for the three airports to
international ground handling companies. The findings of the operations assessments
in Phase One will form part of the tender documentation, and will have a bearing on the
expected service levels and investments.
The overall project aim is to ensure the airports' operational readiness by 2012 at the
latest, so they can offer best in class services and competitive pricing schemes to
attract new clients in the future.
