Amsterdam/Brussels – 20 March 2008: Aviapartner Handling Services has been honoured with the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Passenger Ground Handling Award 2007 in recognition of its customer friendliness and excellent customer service. The award was presented by Rutger Arisz, Director Account & Contract Management, in the name of Ad Rutten, Executive Vice President & COO of the Schiphol Group during the official Schiphol Aviation Award Ceremony held on Monday 17 March 2008. Every year, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol awards clients and business partners who have shown outstanding achievements. The awards are divided into five categories: the Punctuality Award, the Jan Dellaert Award (named after Jan Dellaert, who is known as ‘the father of Schiphol’, the airport’s founder and first Station Manager), the Environmental Capacity Award, the Cargo Award, the Passenger Airline Award, and the Ground Handling Award.

Erik De Goeij-Station Manager Aviapartner Handling Amsterdam (left)-Rutger Arisz-Director Account & Contract Management (middle)-entertainer (right)

For the Ground Handling Award, the criteria taken into account are customer friendliness (passenger perception for waiting times at check-in and baggage delivery times), first bag/last bag performance, participation in operational meetings, and safety incidents. For all criteria Aviapartner’s results were well ahead of those of the other handlers.

Two of Aviapartner’s customers in Amsterdam were also presented with an award. Air Nostrum, which is Aviapartner’s customer for handling services in Amsterdam, received the Punctuality Award. Great Wall Airlines, which is customer to Aero Groundservices, Aviapartner’s recently acquired cargo handling subsidiary in Amsterdam, was honoured with the Cargo Award.

Aviapartner’s passenger and aircraft handling operation at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol was launched in July 1999 and is the fourth largest station within the Aviapartner handling network (after Brussels, Nice, and Munich), with 20,350 flights and 3,620,150 passengers handled in 2007. Aviapartner Handling Amsterdam currently employs some 470 staff.

Aviapartner also provides cargo handling services at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol through its subsidiary Aero Groundservices, which handled 434,000 tons of cargo in 2007 and employs some 550 staff. This makes Amsterdam Aviapartner largest cargo station with its network.

Further information
Aviapartner, whose origins date back to 1949, is the leading independent ground handler in Continental Europe, with headquarters in Brussels. Its main shareholder is 3i, a world leader in private equity and venture capital.

The Aviapartner group is articulated into 3 business units: cargo handling, ground handling, and technics. The company provides a wide range of services at 37 airports in 5 European countries: cargo and mail handling, ramp services, passenger and baggage handling, ticketing, aircraft servicing and maintenance, flight operations and crew administration, load control and communications, surface transport of passengers and crews, operation of airport lounges, catering loading services, security services and executive aviation services.

On a yearly basis, Aviapartner handles 29.3 million passengers, 268,000 aircraft and 1.448.000 tons of cargo. Aviapartner generates a yearly consolidated turnover of € 380 million. The group currently employs some 6000 staff.

Source: Aviapartner
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