New Vienna airport handler promises to retain workforce

All employees affected by the change of the second ground-handling provider at Vienna-Schwechat Airport are expected to keep their jobs for now, ORF reported. Joint Sky Service GmbH confirmed the information to the Austrian Press Agency.

Airline Assistance Switzerland lost the second ground-handling licence at the airport in Schwechat, in the Bruck an der Leitha district. Joint Sky Service won the contract and will take over the licence on October 25.

The future of around 360 AAS employees had initially been unclear. Joint Sky Service now says AAS will continue to handle passenger services at Vienna-Schwechat Airport as its exclusive service provider.

“This means that everything will remain as it is for AAS passenger service employees,” Joint Sky Service said. The arrangement would allow AAS to continue operating at the airport in the long term and ensure that its existing handling services continue through October 24.

Ramp service employees will be taken on directly by Joint Sky Service with all their existing rights and seniority. The company said it could rule out any worsening of employees’ conditions.

Under EU rules, airports above a certain size must have a second ground-handling provider so airlines have an alternative to services offered by the airport operator. AAS currently serves about two dozen of the roughly 65 airlines operating in Vienna, including Turkish Airlines and IAG carriers Iberia and British Airways.

The Turkish provider Celebi previously held the licence but had to surrender it in 2020 after Austria’s Federal Administrative Court found the award procedure to be deficient.

AAS’s licence expires on October 24. Joint Sky Service’s permit will run from October 25, 2026, to October 22, 2033, and covers baggage, freight and mail handling, as well as ramp services.