september2022 - 32

Cargo Matters
Swissport's Concept
for Cargo Handling
Global cargo chair Dirk Goovaerts discusses his company's plans
to address challenges and meet cargo demand.
BY JOSH SMITH
T
he air cargo industry has
evolved in recent years with
trends and expectations for
shipped goods altered by the COVID19
pandemic. More cargo is being sent
around the globe and people expect
to receive their shipments quickly.
With more people turning to air cargo
for timely shipments, the cargo handling
industry has been presented with several
challenges as well as many opportunities.
Dirk Goovaerts, head of Middle East
and Africa and global cargo chair at Swissport
International, spoke with Ground
Support Worldwide at the IATA Ground
Handling Conference earlier this year to
discuss the changes in the cargo industry
and share his company's plans to address
challenges and meet cargo demand.
" Swissport had already a very, very
strong cargo setup prior to the pandemic, "
Goovaerts says.
" Prior to the pandemic, in fact, we had
sufficient capacity everywhere. What we
are seeing is we are running out of capacity, "
he continues. " We are really trying
to make sure we find capacity at existing
airports or finding capacity in a creative
way by collaborating with the stakeholders
in the value chain. "
With increased e-commerce volumes
expected to remain steady moving forward,
Swissport anticipates its cargo
portfolio will continue to grow. Traditionally,
cargo handling represented approximately
20 percent of the company's
overall revenue. That figure is likely to
increase to approximately 25 percent.
As this segment of the business grows,
Goovaerts says the most important thing
Swissport can provide is consistency
through service.
" We have a clear ambition to
grow our cargo presence. We do that
through a number of key pillars, " Goovaerts
explains.
" First of all, consistency of service
underpins the growth of the business. So,
if you provide a consistent high service,
that is, I think, the entry gate to growth, "
he says. " The second pillar is we try to
grow in our existing stations. "
To do so, Swissport is optimizing its
current facilities and processes in order
32 || Ground Support Worldwide || September 2022
to put more volume through its existing
stations and warehouses.
" So, this means proper innovation, digitalization
and so on to get more volume
throughput, " he says.
" Then we also try to identify in our
existing stations where we see growth
coming and we identify that additional
warehouse space, and we secure that
warehouse space. "
Recent examples include expansion at
Vienna airport, acquiring Belgium Airport
Services (BAS) in Liege and securing
additional warehouse space in Amsterdam,
among others.
Promoting Industry
Cooperation
Goovaerts says Swissport is also
playing a role in developing air cargo
communities.
" Where air cargo communities have
been established in the past, the volume
of air cargo has increased, " he says,
pointing to existing cargo communities
at Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Brussels as
successful examples.
september2022

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