Aviation Connect 2025 in October brought together multiple aviation and air cargo conferences, events and meetings under a single umbrella event taking place within the Clarion Hotel at Copenhagen Airport.
Expanding on the multi-conference concept that EVA International Media has been building for several years, Aviation Connect 2025’s multiple events brought together hundreds of senior stakeholders for discussions, meetings, and networking, with many participating in several of the multitude of conferences and channels. These included the ASA World Conference 2025, Air Cargo Handling & Logistics (ACHL) Conference, Airfreight Pharma, ULD Care, the GSE & Ramp-Ops Global Event, and the first Road Feeder Services (RFS) Forum.
ASA World Conference 2025
The ASA World Conference 2025 highlighted the challenges and opportunities facing ground and cargo handling operators and the association ASA World’s journey to become a more effective, credible, and powerful organisation that more fully represents its members’ needs.
ASA World chairman Hassan El Houry highlighted recent achievements including the appointment of director general Dr. Waleed Youssef, the introduction of a new policy handbook, and the launch of a net zero roadmap for the association – which last year rebranded from the Aviation Services Association (ASA) to ASA World to underline its transformed identity and approach. ASA World has focused on safety and regulatory harmonisation, introducing a new data governance policy, and building a strong voice at ICAO, and had increased its visibility through new digital campaigns and presence at major events.
El Houry identified three key industry challenges: recruiting and retaining talent; ensuring safety through consistent training and standards; and achieving global regulatory consistency. He also emphasised the need for investment in modern equipment and greener technology to support the industry’s green transition, while also highlighting the resilience demonstrated by the industry over the past few years, expressing hope for a new chapter of growth and innovation.
Training Accreditation Programme
Director general Waleed Youssef launched the ASA World Training Accreditation Programme (ATAP), which aims to ensure airport operational stability during transitions between ground handling organisations by validating individual training programmes against AHM 1110 standards – the Ground Operations Training Programme within the IATA Airport Handling Manual (AHM).
Youssef described the launch of ATAP as “a milestone: a strategic programme introduced in a sector characterised by high workforce mobility and attrition.”
Once ASA auditors validate individual training programmes, accredited organisations can then transfer staff to other accredited organisations with confidence in their training. Phase two includes extending the ATAP certification to individual workers, offering certificates based on training completed at accredited GHAs.
“This allows individual workers to have a genuine career pathway, and provides, for the first time, formal recognition of professional development and ground handling,” Youssef noted.
ASA is also seeking credibility and reach for the programme via organisations like Airports Council International (ACI) and the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), with mutual recognition from IATA also anticipated once IATA launches its own ‘Training Passport’ programme.
State of the industry
McKinsey & Company partner Daniel Riefer highlighted that low-cost carriers’ disproportionate growth was leading to higher outsourcing and leaner operations. And in Europe, increased seasonality was bringing more challenging staffing planning, the need for seasonal workers, and also upskilling challenges to maintain productivity of employees – whereas in North America and Asia Pacific, seasonality levels have remained relatively stable.
Examining profitability of the aviation industry, McKinsey research indicates that airlines remain, collectively, loss-making, ground services were profitable in the pre-Covid years, with the relatively low-asset freight forwarding sector generating particularly healthy profits. But in 2024, ground services providers collectively recorded a loss of $300 million dollars.
According to McKinsey, future growth for aviation as a whole is expected at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2024 to 2027, with the fastest growth in Asia Pacific. Ground handling is expected to grow at 5% annually.
Key priorities addressing labour challenges, improving operational resilience, focusing on sustainability, and exploring opportunities in geographic expansion, workforce management, operational excellence, and airport automation, noted Riefer.
Turnaround challenge
A panel discussion entitled ‘The Turnaround Challenge’ emphasised recruitment, retention, technology adoption, and standardisation challenges. Key points included the need for better workforce management, especially among younger employees, and the role of technology in enhancing efficiency and safety. Panellists from Havas, Dnata, Swissport, AGI, and IATA, noted that the industry faces a significant increase in passenger volumes by 2037, necessitating innovative solutions. Standardisation efforts through IATA’s OPS Portal were highlighted, and the potential of data sharing and better collaboration with airports to manage and potentially share infrastructure and equipment effectively.
Action points included the need for partnership between ASA and IATA to remove barriers and simplify the onboarding process for employees moving between ground handling companies; investigating opportunities for better data sharing between ground handlers, airlines, and airports to enable more efficient operations; collaboration with airports to explore equipment pooling and other ways to optimise the use of existing infrastructure; exploring ways to make the industry more attractive to the new generation of workers, including improving work-life balance and providing more opportunities for career development; and engagement with the IATA OPS Portal process to help identify and reduce variations in ground handling procedures across the industry.
Solutions for tomorrow’s airports
Another highlight was the panel discussion Ground Ops 2040: Solving Today’s Problems for Tomorrow’s Airports, in which CEOs and other senior leaders from Menzies, Swissport, Dnata, Celebi and ASE Group highlighted the importance of safety, cybersecurity, and the need for standardised regulations. They debated the impact of airline demands on ground handling, the necessity of balanced partnerships, and the challenges of managing quicker turnarounds. The association’s role in advocating for fair terms and conditions in ground handling agreements was also discussed, stressing the need for collaboration with airports and unions to ensure operational resilience and safety.
Action points included agreements of the need to collect data and quantitative evidence to strengthen ASA’s arguments against unfair contract terms, like excessive payment delays and termination clauses; engage with airports to include provisions in their conditions of use that protect the financial viability of ground handlers; advocate for IATA to be more involved in the commercial aspects of the Standard Ground Handling Agreement, not just the operational standards; and organise a workshop on standards and regulations for ground handling with IATA and ACI.
Road Feeder Services (RFS) Forum
The first ever Road Feeder Services (RFS) Forum highlighted the importance of RFS in air freight, noting that all airlines use RFS to feed freight to and from their air cargo networks, including an estimated 25% of air freight that is transported by truck on flight numbers where the cargo never leaves the ground. Key issues included the need for more secure parking spaces, the impact of trade tariffs on global logistics, and the rise of e-commerce in Europe.
Conference chair David Smorenburg, business development manager at Jan de Rijk Logistics, noted the “massive shifts” this year in freight and trade flows due to the changes in US tariffs, such as US importers shifting supply from China to Vietnam. There were also implications for RFS operators in the shift towards specialist cargo airports due to the growth of cross-border e-commerce – for example in Europe, to feeder cargo to and from airports such as Liege and Budapest. “We expect, for example, that Milan, Madrid and Warsaw will be the next airports, and for RFS, this is an opportunity to to expand and broaden our networks,” Smorenburg notes.
Challenges such as an aging workforce, the shortage of 350,000 drivers in Europe, and switching to more-sustainable fuel in some markets – such as the very high cost of HVO fuel in Australia – were also discussed. Whereas in Europe, RFS operators are now moving into the first phase of electric vehicles, that’s “not sustainable” in Australia, where drivers may have to drive for four days or 4,000 kilometres, requiring them to charge their vehicle 9 or 10 times en route.
The importance of digitalisation, Ai, and standardisation in improving efficiency and sustainability were emphasised, along with the need for better communication and collaboration.
Smorenburg urged stakeholders to embrace digitalisation and take advantage of its benefits – such as slot booking systems that “are key to successful operations, especially for truckers and ground handlers, with benefits on all levels”.
KLM Cargo’s Kester Meier, director of operational integrity, compliance & safety, asked about the potential impact of a new EU regulation from 1 January 2027 requiring all hauliers providing surface transport of secured air cargo to be approved and listed in an EU database of supply chain security. Hauliers must submit their aviation security programme and declaration of commitments to the appropriate authority – including demonstrating how they monitor and ensure compliance with the provisions of its security programme.
Smorenburg noted that the requirement for background checks was currently already being fulfilled by reputable RFS operators, although it may make future recruitment of drivers from certain countries more challenging.
Airfreight Pharma
Airfreight Pharma conference chair Stavros Evangelakakis, chairman of the Cool Chain Association and head of global healthcare at Cargolux Airlines, noted that participants had talked a lot about innovation, sustainability and common audits, highlighting that it was great to participate in an event with so many pharmaceutical manufacturers in the room. On sustainability, he highlighted the challenge of supporting two-way packaging use. He also noted that the requirement for audits among life science customers of air freight will only continue as companies move increasingly towards cell and gene therapy treatments, where the distribution will rely upon shipment by air.
On the subject of common audits, work by CCA and its members had led to the creation of a company called Qualifyze, an independent audit and compliance management and analysis platform, to help manage the large and growing number of audits required by the pharmaceutical industry of its logistics suppliers. CCA announced a pilot project that had gone into the first phase, involving a CCA airline member and two freight forwarders.
GSE & Ramp-Ops Global Event
The discussion at the GSE and Ramp Operations track emphasised innovation, electrification, and autonomy in the ground handling industry. Conference chair Robert Powell, VP of technical services for UAE and global GSE strategy at Dnata, highlighted that seven out of twelve sessions focused on GSE electrification, noting its impact on sustainability, cleaner environments, and technical complexities. The importance of effective planning, data utilisation, and collaboration was stressed, with examples from DHL and EasyJet. Autonomy was deemed crucial, with significant operations already in place globally. The need for skilled technicians and strong industry voices, particularly in sustainability, was underscored, urging ASA members to participate actively.
Air Cargo Handling & Logistics (ACHL) Conference
Among the various events, the 2025 Air Cargo Handling & Logistics (ACHL) Conference formed a centrepiece for the whole Aviation Connect 2025 event, and a selection of the discussions from ACHL 2025 are featured in the following section of this magazine.
