Licence change leaves 361 Vienna airport ground staff jobs uncertain

The future of 361 employees at Vienna International Airport remains unclear after the ground-handling licence was awarded to a new provider, ORF reported. The employees of the current provider, Airline Assistance Switzerland, were registered with the AMS early-warning system.

Vienna-Schwechat Airport in the Bruck an der Leitha district handles more than 240,000 take-offs and landings each year. Most are handled by Flughafen Wien AG staff, while Airline Assistance Switzerland, known as AAS, provides the second ground-handling service required at EU airports so airlines have an alternative to the airport operator.

AAS handles about 19,000 flights a year and has held the licence since January 1, 2020. Because the Airport Ground Handling Act limits licences to a maximum of seven years, the Transport Ministry put the contract out to tender and awarded it to Joint Sky Services GmbH, based in Eisenstadt. The new company will hold the licence from October 25, 2026.

It is not yet clear what will happen to AAS employees after that date. All 361 employees were registered with the AMS early-warning system in mid-August.

Anna Mertinz, a lawyer representing AAS, told ORF that the registration did not mean all employees working in Vienna would be dismissed. The notification was made as a precaution, she said.

Companies point to ongoing negotiations

Both AAS, represented by Mertinz, and Joint Sky Services managing director Martin Stift said that “good negotiations” were currently under way.

Stift said there was “no reason for employees to fear for their jobs”, because current staffing levels were “at the lower end of requirements”. Ground handling includes baggage, cargo and mail handling as well as apron services, according to the Transport Ministry.

“In principle, we can state that we will take on all affected AAS employees if AAS customers also switch to us,” Stift said. If airlines moved to Flughafen Wien AG, he added, the airport operator would also need the required trained staff.

All parties involved stressed the importance of reaching an agreement quickly on the employees’ future.

Union calls for quick answers

The GPA trade union said after initial talks on Thursday that the discussions had been constructive, but that employees still lacked clear answers.

“Both Airline Assistance Switzerland AG and Joint Sky Service GmbH are now required to inform employees about the next steps as quickly as possible and create legal certainty for everyone, because time is pressing,” said Thomas Schäffer, chairman of GPA Lower Austria. The union said it would continue to demand this in future talks with both companies.

Ground handling is safety-related work, Schäffer said. It requires well-trained, security-cleared and experienced staff familiar with the airport’s procedures and specific conditions. That knowledge could not be replaced overnight, he added.