Ground handler Swissport reported a successful business year in 2021 thanks primarily to its cargo unit.
The company processed 5.1m tonnes of cargo at its more than 100 air cargo facilities last year, which is an all-time high and represents a 10% increase compared with pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
Meanwhile, the company's larger airport ground services business is still "severely affected by the global travel restrictions". Last year passenger numbers stood at 97m compared with 265m in 2019 and flights handled stood at 2m against 4.1m pre-pandemic.
Swissport International chief executive and president Warwick Brady said: "I am immensely proud that our teams around the globe – in an extremely challenging environment – have collectively delivered a very respectable result.
"It demonstrates the resilience and reliability of our company as an airline partner. We have intensified our customer engagement in recent months and continue to bring in new business and grow existing accounts. For 2022, we expect an accelerated recovery of global air traffic, latest by the start of the summer holidays in the northern hemisphere. This will also boost demand for airport ground services."
The company has launched a large-scale recruitment initiative to prepare for a recovery in flying. The company will create some 17,000 new jobs worldwide. These are primarily frontline roles in passenger services (check-in, gate) and ramp handling (movement of aircraft/towing, baggage handling).
