Brazilian airline Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras has chosen ground handler Swissport to provide ground services at Viracopos International Airport (VCP), its hub airport in Campinas, Brazil.
Azul Linhas Aéreas has contracted Switzerland-based Swissport to provide airport ramp handling, aircraft cleaning, and cargo handling services.
The eight-year contract follows on from deals between the two at eight other locations in Brazil.
"We are pleased to take our partnership with Azul to the next level," said Rene Pascua, Swissport’s head of Latin America and the Caribbean. "Swissport has been serving Azul at several airports since the start of their operations in 2008, and we are honoured to earn their renewed trust and to serve them at their home base. Swissport is well prepared to support Azul’s growth in Brazil and beyond as it adds new aircraft."
From VCP, Azul serves 66 destinations across Latin SwAmerica and selected routes to the U.S. and Portugal. The fleet of approximately 150 planes is expected to grow by another 90 over the next years. While the fleet currently consists primarily of narrowbody Airbus, ATR and Embraer airliners, Azul also operates 13 Airbus widebody aircraft and has additional Airbus A350s on order to support future growth.
In Brazil, Swissport serves 17 airlines at ten airports with around 4,300 employees. Services include check-in and gate, ramp handling, fuelling, aircraft cleaning and air cargo handling. Prior to the pandemic, Swissport handled around 36m passengers and 280,000 flights across Brazil.
Swissport processed 5.1m tonnes of cargo at its more than 100 air cargo facilities last year.
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