COVID-19 has had a profound effect on aircraft ground handling in many ways in addition to significantly shrinking the volume of the business. Indeed, the industry has probably never faced such a challenging and unpredictable time.
Fabio Gamba, director general of the Airport Services Association (ASA), observes that COVID-19 has really been affecting the whole value chain, not only the airlines but all the contractors to airlines and the airports.
“The most difficult part is the uncertainty. In previous crises, one was typically faced with a situation that was definitely limited in time. This time we are faced with something that has multiple different facets and that is characterized by almost an impossibility to predict how long it will last,” he says.
“We have done our best to mitigate the impact through managing our business tightly and ensuring constant communication with our colleagues and our customers,” adds Mervyn Walker, chief operating officer (COO) at Menzies Aviation. “The international government schemes have been essential in supporting the industry and helping to mitigate people costs, which are often the largest expense.”
While officials at Menzies remain confident in the long-term growth potential of the aviation services market, they do not anticipate a return to pre-COVID-19 levels for some time.
“We have been coordinating efforts with other ground handlers to ensure our sector is not forgotten; currently we are encouraging governments around the world to continue the job retention schemes that support skilled jobs until the end of 2021,” says Walker. “Implementation of a scheme of this nature would prevent job losses and ensure the sector can get back on its feet.”
COVID-19 Influences
Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, the expert teams at dnata have worked to develop and implement specific health and safety programs, to minimize touchpoints and enhance services, processes and training across its operations.
“We have run disinfection programs, introduced new personal protective measures and further improved aircraft cleaning services to safeguard our skilled staff and deliver safety for our airline partners and their passengers,” says Dirk Goovaerts, dnata’s regional CEO for Asia Pacific.
Ground handling companies have worked closely with airports to maximize safety for passengers throughout their airport journey, from check-in to boarding.
“Check-in desks have been installed with protective barriers and waiting areas have been modified to help passengers observe social distancing. The boarding process is facilitated by our boarding agents who wear the required PPE and ensure that passengers board in small numbers,” says Goovaerts.
In addition, there has been an enhanced aircraft cabin cleaning service.
“The process involves extensive cleaning with a stronger disinfectant and includes a comprehensive wipe down of all surfaces – from windows, tray tables, seatback screens, armrests, seats, in-seat controls, panels, air vents and overhead lockers in the cabin to lavatories, galleys and crew rest areas,” explains Goovaerts. “The on-board cleaning chemicals are approved by the relevant authorities and proven to kill viruses and germs. They leave a long-lasting protective coating against new contamination of viruses, bacteria and fungi on surfaces, and are eco-friendly.
“We also introduced aircraft fogging services,” he continues. “A dedicated quality team and shift managers oversee the cleaning on the majority of flights.”
Duke LeDuc, regional operations manager at UAS International Trip Support, observes that as a consequence of non-essential travel being halted to a large extent, the reduction in movement of commercial traffic also reduced airspace congestion but added ramp congestion at some airports.
“Another consequence of the reduced commercial capacity was the tightening of the supply chain, which caused an increased demand on cargo traffic. So many of the normal approval flow processes needed to shift very quickly. There were more government entities that were now becoming part of the approval process,” he says. “This added time and complexity to each of the flights that were not as evidenced before.”
Many of the handlers have had to adjust working hours due to local restrictions and curfews.
“Because of the frequent changes in regulations and varied interpretation by local authorities, it is critical to engage an experienced local handler to help navigate a smooth arrival and clearance through the customs, immigration and quarantine process,” adds LeDuc. “New visa issuance in some countries have been suspended, so special waivers may need to be obtained through diplomatic channels.”
According to Adolfo Aragon, senior vice president at Universal Aviation, COVID-19 has forced the business aviation industry to find creative ways to overcome the downturn in international travel due to the restrictions.
“Starting in April of 2020, volume dropped 87 percent from April 2019. Since that time, there has been a slow uptick each month. Most movements from April through June were humanitarian operations and medevacs,” he says.
LeDuc highlights that some countries are indeed now opening up to additional traffic.
“Some of the obvious residual effects of the reduction of travel are shortages that may limit catering options available at some of the more remote airports,” he says. “A number of handlers and fuelers have had to reduce staff and this can cause service issues. Most airports are experiencing some sort of reduction in operating hours.”
Aragon also observes that one of the ways handling companies have compensated for the loss of business traffic was by pivoting and supporting more cargo operations between locations where traditionally ground support is not arranged.
“We began supporting more airlines which were using commercial aircraft to deliver medical cargo,” he says.
The ‘New Normal’
According to Aragon, aviation has always had a strong safety culture and, therefore, adopting new health processes to protect employees and customers from COVID – i.e. the ‘new normal’ – was not difficult.
“The challenge was rather finding a standard consensus on best practices among the varying different global organizations and health departments at the locations we serve,” he says. “We were proactive when the pandemic hit and ahead of the industry as far as adopting health standards for our network.
“We created our standards by analyzing recommendations from various agencies such as the WHO, CDC, IATA, ICAO and other local health authorities,” Aragon continues. “We were ahead in many cases helping the airports develop their own protocols and then submitting them to their governments for their approval.”
When travel restrictions began to be lifted, the industry was met with new difficulties that it had not faced in the past – many of which pertained to the speed at which one could adapt to a restart.
“For instance, when a given airport has been totally stopped during the lockdown and it reopens again at a slower pace, then one needs to be able to follow that return by having back the people at work, but not all the previous teams because they would be too many,” says Gamba. “Ground service providers are required to make sure that they can have the right level of people commitments; but this is extremely complicated as it requires to have very precise scheduling. And, normally, the situation is that airlines are constantly updating their schedules.”
With schedules changing sometimes by the day, the airport teams have been working closely with airlines on planning for forthcoming flight schedules.
“Everyone in the industry has had to become very flexible in order to manage the significantly reduced workload. Government support schemes have been a lifeline for the industry,” says Walker. “With reduced schedules, many employees have been placed on furlough, which has prevented the loss of thousands of experienced, well trained and security cleared staff.”
The schedule changes and the related difficulty at forecasting are due to several factors, according to Gamba.
“The first one is that there are no means for member states of ICAO to agree on a common level and interpretation of epidemiology. So, what a country defines as being enough for a complete lockdown would be something that another country in a similar situation would consider as a simple epidemic and would not therefore shut itself down entirely,” he explains.
“Another element of uncertainty is due to the quarantine that has been imposed by a number of countries over passengers coming from other countries,” Gamba adds. “The lists of the countries whose originating passengers are required to quarantine are different from Country A to Country B and obviously this makes the situation extremely complex.”
According to Le Duc, some of the “new normal” includes closer scrutiny of the medical screenings by governmental authorities at the airport.
“More entities involved with the approval processes for flights will add processing time and increase costs long-term. Many countries are expecting the aircraft to be sanitized prior to arrival,” he says. “Although there is no evidence COVID-19 is transmitted through food, it is a high-visibility item that can be an area of concern for many travelers. The operators should take the time to help the flight attendants connect with reputable catering sources and coordinate with the caterer and the flight attendants to minimize person-to-person contact.”
The operators should also ensure the catering does not utilize shareable trays and limits offerings to individually wrapped snack plates, according to Le Duc.
“Offering pre-packaged meals as catering options is highly encouraged and so is utilizing disposable flatware and plates whenever feasible. Moreover, they should train the ground team members to park the aircraft and maintain distance and ensure they do not interact with the passengers or baggage,” he says. “When on the ground, they should institute a rope at the bottom of the stairs to deter unauthorized personnel from entering the aircraft and provide a cart for passengers to secure their own luggage. They should also limit the handling of passenger luggage so as to have them maintain responsibility of their own luggage and personal items and ensure that flight crew, line service and maintenance personnel have gloves available and required while handling the baggage, as necessary.”
Aragon emphasizes that one of the current big challenges under the “new normal” is COVID-19 testing.
“Most places require a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours before allowing entry. This is a challenge for operators, especially in the United States, where test results can take up to a week to get back,” he says. “We have established testing centers at several of our FBOs around the world, that can deliver results in 24-hours or less. This greatly enhances the operators’ ability to travel, especially in Europe.”
Important Relationships
Ground handlers have continued to deliver air services and have taken on new roles to support airline customers amid the COVID-19 challenges.
“We have also continued to support airlines in maintaining global trade and the flow of essential goods by delivering cargo services. What we see, as a result of COVID-19, in express air cargo now and for the foreseeable future is the surge of freighters and charter flights. The demand for PPE, hand sanitizers, medical equipment has significantly increased. Neither governments, nor businesses or individuals could afford to wait weeks for these supplies to arrive via sea cargo. We have played a critical role in keeping the supply chain going,” says Goovaerts.
“In response to the strong air cargo market demand for the rapid, reliable and efficient transportation of essential commodities, several airlines have introduced additional cargo capacity by using passenger aircraft with seats fully or partially removed from the cabin,” he continues. “To adapt to changing customer needs, we have enhanced services, improved processes and trained employees to safely and efficiently handle passenger planes carrying cargo only.”
The implementation of new health and hygiene measures have been key as airlines look to rebuild passenger confidence in air travel.
“Ground handlers have had to be responsive and supportive of the implementation of social distancing measures and rigorous cleaning regimes, among other new protocols,” says Walker. “We have also had to put in place measures to bring our own teams back to work safely. The focus across it all has been on balancing the safe and effective implementation of these measures while ensuring that operational efficiency is not compromised.”
The operators expect to have their partners develop a COVID-19 plan that closely mirrors their own, according to Le Duc.
“They want to see a strict adherence to the standard protocol. The passengers who utilize business aviation the most have largely the same profile of some of the highest risk people. So COVID-19 protocols are expected without exception,” he says. “The handlers should train their employees to be able to verbalize the procedures they have in place for the virus and make sure the employees are prepared to not only practice but also to be able to describe the plan to curious guests and crew members.”
Every business aircraft operator is adopting some kind of protocol related to safety.
“Every country is adapting new requirements and changing them overnight in some cases. We are trying to eliminate steps during the process, always in compliance with the authorities and local requirements. We have worked to reduce the ground time and reduce the exposure for passengers and crews. The handling process in some cases is a little bit more complicated due to health protocols in place by the local authorities,” says Aragon.
“Something that was discussed in the beginning was the need for aircraft sanitization during a trip. We do not see that happening frequently,” he continues. “Most operators are doing that at their home base and not during a trip unless they feel there has been any time of additional exposure. Aircraft are being closed when on the ground and nobody, but the crew and passengers, are allowed to get in.”
Impacts on Investment
Gamba observes that one of the main issues is that while overall there has been around $140 billion (USD) invested in different forms – through grants or loans by governments – into ailing airlines, only a very tiny fraction has trickled down to contractors.
“What one can see is that the airlines are remaining afloat and a number of them are now reopening. The situation that is a sort of a conjunction between the airlines who are expecting some solidarity from the ecosystem and an ecosystem that has many difficulties to respond to those expectations,” he says.
“As it currently stands, we have a surplus of equipment due to the decline in demand and flight volumes, and this will continue to be the case for some time as the industry gradually returns to pre-COVID-19 levels,” Walker points out. “However, we will continue to invest as well as strategically moving equipment to where it is needed across our 200-station strong network. Safety and security are our absolute priorities, therefore we will also ensure we are investing in the right equipment so that the teams have everything they need in order to do their job safely.”
dnata has invested in the training of its staff to develop a wider pool of inhouse skillset to be able to redeploy its employees across its operations.
“With a strong emphasis on e-learning, the upskilling of our people helps us stay agile and build a workforce that can be redeployed internally on a wider scale. The current situation has also enabled the acceleration of technology, where we investigate and implement new procedures supported by automation,” says Goovaerts. “Furthermore, we have recently invested in GSE across our APAC operations and will continue to do so.”
Of course, many expansion plans and capital expenditure (CapEx) acquisitions are now on hold due to the current situation.
“We need to assess the forecast on demand, location by location, and decide where we should continue investing. We definitely expect a recovery of the industry, faster for business aviation compared to commercial aviation. Domestic trips in the USA and intra region in Europe are ramping up fast. More and more we will see a niche of customers who traditionally flew commercial, trying to book charter or fractional general aviation,” says Aragon. “We will see more of this growth internationally as the countries start opening their borders and lightening the restrictions.”
Gamba highlights that governments tend to emphasize that they can only promise financial support to airlines under a number of conditions.
“And within these conditions, there are ‘green’ conditions. One should indeed think in terms of a longer-term perspective and make sure that we have an environmentally friendly industry; but in current extreme conditions there is only one thing that matters and that is to make sure that there is a tomorrow for the industry,” he says.
“We are involved in discussions with EASA on a number of policies that we can put together in order to help our CO₂ footprint to improve, specifically via the acquisition of electric GSE,” Gamba concludes. “We are discussing with the European Commission on ways to get the likes of ‘green bonds’ to help invest in new equipment. We are having these discussions in parallel to the pandemic rather than because of the pandemic.”
