Swissport will continue to serve Air France-KLM in Saudi Arabia until 2025, according to the new contract that expands the existing cooperation to all flights of all airlines of the French-Dutch airline group, including freighter services.
With the five-year commitment of French-Dutch airline group Air France-KLM in Saudi Arabia, Swissport further strengthens its presence in the Arabian peninsula. The new contract now also includes air cargo handling in addition to passenger services and ramp handling. The new agreement covers all airlines of the Air France-KLM Group, including KLM, Air France, Air France Cargo, Martinair and Transavia.
Gerold Tumulka, CEO of Swissport Middle East, said: “We are excited and honored by the renewed confidence Air France-KLM puts in our business and our people in Saudi Arabia. By including all airlines of the group into the contract, we are the preferred partner for Air France-KLM in the region. We look forward to standing by their side through the market recovery and support them post-COVID as prospects get brighter.”
The start of the expanded agreement is marked by a new KLM service from Amsterdam to Riyadh (RUH) four times per week, starting 11 January 2021, which is operated with Airbus A330 widebody aircraft. Pre-COVID, Swissport had provided airport ground services to KLM on ten weekly flights in Dammam (DMM), a stop-over on route between Amsterdam and Muscat, Oman, where Swissport also provides ground services.
The contract expansion supports Swissport’s growth strategy in the Middle East. Just recently, Swissport had added Al-Qassim as a fourth airport to its portfolio in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Overall, Swissport has been present in Saudi Arabia since 2016 when it started operations in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Swissport has since gradually developed its business from a greenfield start-up into an established organization with a broad customer base of established regional airlines and well-known international carriers.