When you are at the airports of the nine stations where Swissport is represented in Morocco, from check-in through baggage weighing to take-off, you are looked after by the agents of the world leader in airport services. With more than 600 staff, the Swiss company’s main activity is indeed ground handling, including, among other things, passenger boarding and disembarkation and the loading and unloading of baggage. “Our mission is to provide the aviation industry with consistent, tailor-made solutions for a better-quality customer experience”, says Christophe de Figueiredo, Managing Director of Swissport Maroc.
In Morocco, Swissport handles more than 22,000 flights a year and has more than thirty airline customers, such as Lufthansa, Air Arabia, Air Canada Rouge, British Airways, Easy Jet, Ryanair, Iberia, Swiss, TAP Portugal and Germanwings.
FBOs, a major challenge!
In 2016, Swissport Maroc recorded several success stories. For the first time in Morocco, last summer Swissport provided its ground handling services to Air Canada Rouge, on the flight linking Casablanca’s Mohammed V Airport with Montreal.
During 2016, Swissport also received ISO 9001:2008 certification for the Agadir, Marrakech, Fès, Tangier, Rabat and Casablanca stations.
Finally, after obtaining one of the business aviation licences awarded by the Office National des Aéroports (National Airports Office), Swissport created Swissport Executive Aviation Maroc. This structure is responsible for setting up FBO (Fixed Base Operator) bases to provide handling services for business aviation. “In the course of 2017, we will have the FBO construction projects, including three lounges to be built in Rabat, Tangier and Marrakech; the one in Casablanca is to be renovated”, adds Christophe de Figueiredo.
For Swissport, this year was also marked by the expansion of the Centralized Load Control (CLC) project, which enables aircraft to optimise and secure their loading and thus save fuel.
Centralized Load Control: a feat
Enabling aircraft to fly as “level” as possible and thus save fuel in complete safety: that is the challenge Swissport is taking up with Centralized Load Control. This involves drawing up weight estimates for aircraft using a load plan that takes into account the volume of fuel, cargo and passengers to indicate the position of each element. The Swissport Group has two CLCs, in Manchester and Casablanca. “In 2016, we won a contract with TAP Portugal. Eventually, we will draw up the load plans for all their flights from Casablanca”, says Mr de Figueiredo. He adds: “The CLC is growing rapidly, with the sale of our services to our other European and African stations.”
A new turning point…
In February 2016, Swissport was acquired by the Chinese conglomerate HNA Group. “This acquisition ushers in a new era for Swissport and strengthens our competitiveness”, explains Christophe de Figueiredo. Active in several business sectors such as aviation, finance, logistics and tourism, HNA Group invested more than 35 billion dollars in company acquisitions in 2016. These acquisitions include the IT products and services wholesaler Ingram Micro, the aircraft lessor CIT Group and the hotel chain Carlson Rezidor, represented in Morocco by Radisson Blu. HNA Group is also the largest shareholder of the Hilton group, the largest hotel chain in the world. The conglomerate also owns Gate Gourmet, the world leader in airline catering.
Three questions for:
Christophe de Figueiredo, MD of Swissport Maroc
How would you assess 2016?
2016 was a year of reorganisation and consolidation of our projects. The aviation sector went through a rather critical period in 2016, and 2017 already looks better, with, for our part, the return of Air Canada Rouge on a year-round rather than seasonal schedule and the growth of Air Arabia, our second-largest customer. At Group level, it is the consolidation of the regional policy that will be further intensified.
What do you think of the CCSM?
I was very pleasantly surprised by the dynamism that drives the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Morocco. The goodwill is there; we will need to keep working in this direction. And that will require more visibility and recognition, internal networking between the Chamber’s member companies, etc. In addition, we have excellent support from the Embassy, for which we are grateful.
Your final word?
I wish everyone a very happy 2017. For my part, I am delighted to be spending another year here and I am convinced that it will be even better than 2016.