NAS India wins ground handling tender for three airports in India

The leading provider of quality airport ground handling services in developing countries, National Aviation Services (NAS) today officially announced that it has been awarded handling contracts at three prominent airports in India’s western region, Ahmedebad, Pune and Goa.Through this award, NAS India will provide passenger services and ramp handling to airlines operating at the 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), the organization working under the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation that manages around 126 airports in India, both domestic and international.

NAS India currently provides passenger & ramp handling services to airlines at twelve airports in India and is looking towards expanding its presence in the sub-continent 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 & 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 traffic of close to 3 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 2 million passengers a year. Goa’s Airport which handled 2.3 million passengers and 22,000 flights in 2008 is currently 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 & 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” quoted Mathews Chacko, Project Manager at NAS adding “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"“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.” quoted Hassan El Houry CEO of NAS. “Apart from last year, India has seen a tremendous growth in the aviation sector and we see ourselves as strategic partners who aim to help India build a profitable aviation industry. By working in cooperation with the AAI, implementing cutting edge technologies and internationally adapted processes & procedures, we can help the Indian aviation industry certainly achieve long term sustainability & exceptional financial growth and can even overcome hurdles like the economic downturn that we are witnessing around the world.” concluded El Houry