Solid. The Spaniards from South Europe – who won the competition to award handling licenses at national airports – are firm in their intention to operate in Portugal, even despite the strong opposition that the current incumbent, Menzies, has been mounting to prevent them.
“We continue to have the same interest that we had on the day we presented ourselves for the competition. That is, 100%. We want to respect the phases of the process and we believe that we are moving forward at the appropriate time”, the CEO of South Europe, from the IAG group (owners of Iberia and British Airways), Miguel Ángel Gimeno, told DN.
As DN previously wrote, Menzies (formerly Groundforce), the current operator, will open a “war” against the consortium that won the ANAC competition (Clece/South), contesting the score that gave victory to South. Menzies, DN found, has alluded to possible redundancies if the result of the competition remains as it is.
The company claims that the tender does not provide for the transfer of establishment and that Clece/South will not be able to guarantee the jobs of the thousands of workers who provide ground handling services. An argument that, in 2016, victimized Menzies itself, when the British company came forward and won the competition for the Lisbon and Faro licenses, then against Alfredo Casimiro’s Groundforce.
At the time, Groundforce appealed, stating that Menzies would not be able to absorb its specialized workforce (more than 2,800 workers) with training and authorizations for the task. Groundforce won the appeal and everything remained as before, until Menzies stayed with Groundforce after the insolvency process.
What is certain is that the process will not be quick. At the time it announced the result of the competition, ANAC had already proposed a one-year extension of Menzies’ licenses, so that there would be no disruption to ground handling operations at Lisbon, Porto and Faro airports. The licenses expired on November 19th.
However, the Government decided to renew Menzies’ operational authorization for just six months. According to Expresso, the ministry supervised by Miguel Pinto Luz considered that the annual extension was “disproportionate”. But it is a sign that the Government intends either a quick transition to another operator or a quick definition of maintaining Menzies as an operator.
South in conversation with players until Wednesday
In any case, South is more interested in maintaining its roadmap to enter Portuguese handling and, to begin with, this involves conversations with the Government, ANA and the unions that represent handling workers, something that will happen until Wednesday.
“I prefer not to have misunderstandings and I also like to be very clear and very transparent. Once we have met with all the players, I will be freer to talk more”, Miguel Ángel Gimeno tells DN.
But the interest in Portugal is evident and strategic for the company. “We are a handling company. And at the end of the day, a license in Portugal, and in these airports, which are quite important, is our business, our core. We are dedicated to this. I don’t think we could stop going to tender here, especially because of our workers”, says the CEO of South.
Created in 2024, South is the handling subsidiary of the IAG Group. It is the leader in Spain, where it operates in 38 airports. It provides handling services to companies in the IAG group: Iberia, Iberia Express, Vueling, LEVEL Airlines, British Airways, Air Nostrum and Aer Lingus.
What is the rationale for entering Portugal now? Is the company already dreaming about the potential of the new airport to be built in Alcochete? “Of course [que o novo aeroporto] is on the table, but is not part of South’s decision [de entrar em Portugal]. We have 38 airports, yes, some like Porto, others like Faro and even Lisbon. Therefore, we believe that our business model is replicable in Portugal”, adds Miguel Ángel Gimeno.