NAS India wins ground handling tender for three airports

KUWAIT - National Aviation Services (NAS), a leading provider of quality airport ground handling services in developing countries, today officially announced that it has been awarded handling contracts at airports in Ahmedebad, Pune and Goa.

NAS India will provide passenger services and ramp handling to airlines operating at these three airports which boast some of the highest passenger volumes and aircraft movements among non-metropolitan cities in India.

The award was made by the Airports Authority of India (AAI),which manages around 126 airports in India, both domestic and international.

NAS India currently provides passenger and ramp handling services to airlines at twelve airports in India and is looking towards expanding its presence in the subcontinent by providing new and innovative value added services at the airports it operates in.

Through its joint venture with Turkish ground handler Celebi, NAS also provides ground handling services at the Mumbai International Airport which has the highest amount of passenger and aircraft traffic in the country and look towards introducing its operational synergies to these airports to increase efficiencies and improve service levels.

Ahmedebad’s Sardar Vallabhai Patel International Airport currently handles close to three million passengers with a total annual aircraft movement of over 38,000 while the Pune International Airport handles close to 18,000 aircraft and a little under two million passengers a year. Goa’s Airport which handled 2.3 million passengers and 22,000 flights in 2008, is in the process of approving a new and modern airport facility.

Both Ahmedebad and Pune which have strong industrial sectors are also Information Technology hubs and as such have a considerable amount of domestic and international traffic. Goa on the other hand is a popular tourist destination for Indians and foreigners and sees a large amount of passenger traffic particularly during the tourism season between October and March.

“Customers (Airlines) require efficient and cost effective ground handling service providers, who have modern equipment and internationally adapted practices and procedures, to provide them with a one-stop-solution to their ground handling requirements,” said Mathews Chacko, Project Manager at NAS.

“These airlines can now benefit from single service level agreements with NAS for all the airports we operate and can be assured of availing of the same quality of service, uniform processes and other similar shared synergies,” he added.

“As we consider ourselves stakeholders of the Indian aviation industry, it is important for us to be involved in all its growth aspects and our win at these airports exemplifies our focus on creating a bigger footprint in India,” said Hassan El Houry, CEO of NAS. (ANI)