While the COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic effect on the airline industry, and subsequently the ground support sector, passenger traffic is beginning to recover.
At the 6th GHI Americas Conference, held in Miami March 29-31, industry stakeholders shared a positive outlook about the direction the industry is headed, but pointed out key areas that need to be addressed in order to accommodate this anticipated growth.
Filipe Reis, IATA’s regional director, airport passenger and cargo services – the Americas, noted that 24 months since the pandemic began, air traffic figures are still 50 percent lower than they were in 2019. But with health restrictions being lifted and borders re-opening, air travel numbers are expected to reach 8 billion passengers in the next 20 years, which is in line with pre-pandemic expectations.
A growth mindset and innovation will be key in order to successfully manage this anticipated growth, according to Mark Garland, director of airport and corporate procurement at American Airlines. He encouraged stakeholders to look at things differently and not shy away from the challenges ahead.
“If you settle for good, unfortunately good gets in the way of great,” he said.
With a focus on emerging from hard times, here are three areas of discussion highlighting the current condition of the industry and what can be expected in the months and years to come.
Cargo’s Importance
While passenger traffic was wiped out by border closures and domestic lockdowns when the pandemic began in March 2020, cargo requirements allowed many carriers and ground service providers to stay in operation.
David Barker, divisional senior vice president of airport operations at dnata, said “thank goodness for cargo.”
“The airlines, the ground handlers, our community would not have existed without cargo operations,” Barker said.
Innovation was required to handle the increase in cargo demand in cargo as more people relied on goods being shipped around the world and the global healthcare community prepared to distribute temperature-sensitive vaccines.
Glyn Hughes, director general of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), applauded the cargo handling sector’s innovative approach to meeting large demands, particularly the achievements of passenger aircraft being converted into freighter planes, colloquially termed preighters.
Labor Shortage
Perhaps the most immediate challenge faced by the industry is staffing skilled employees.
As some ground handling personnel are leaving the industry to take jobs that may pay better or are less demanding, Barker said it is important to re-evaluate how we look at careers in the ground handling sector. He encouraged attendees to consider this work as a profession – not a job – and invest in the career path of employees.
He also noted ground handling entities are harming one another by undercutting each other in shared markets.
“It’s ok to compete, but we should not be competing for minimum wage,” Barker said. “It’s not about competition. It’s about being aviation professionals.”
Hughes added the need to attract the next generation of the workforce is paramount to the industry’s success. He added the industry needs to do a better job of appealing to women, who make up 50 percent of the world’s population but are not represented to the same degree in ground handling.
Robert Fordree, executive vice president of cargo at Menzies Aviation, encouraged the industry to accelerate the use of technology as a way to attract the next generation of the workforce.
“We do have future growth potential – enormous growth potential,” he said. “We can make it an attractive business.”
GSE Trends
On the topic of new technology, innovation in ground support equipment (GSE) is also critical for the ground handling industry.
Michael Bloomfield, chairman of the International Airport Equipment Manufacturers’ Association (IAEMA), highlighted key trends in the GSE space.
Like other areas of aviation, a greater focus is being placed on GSE sustainability. To accomplish this, manufacturers are developing alternative powered equipment, including electric units powered by lithium-ion batteries. Bloomfield also pointed to sodium-based technology for batteries and hydrogen powered equipment as future opportunities to enhance sustainability.
Autonomous technology is being incorporated into ground support equipment to help with menial tasks around the ramp and help overcome labor shortages.
GSE telematic solutions are also helping ground operations run smoothly.
For example, Jan De Leeuw, managing director of North America at TCR, noted his company provides telemetry for both motorized and non-motorized equipment to assist with maintenance requirements, identifying asset location and more. This data helps ensure GSE is available to ground handlers when and where it’s needed to perform time-sensitive missions.
