Aerolineas Argentinas chooses Orbital for handling contracts in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia

Orbital Group, the leading ramp, passenger services and airport security operator in Brazil, has won handling contracts from Aerolineas Argentinas in São Paulo, Rio de Janiero and Brasilia.

Orbital, which is majority owned by Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), has been awarded two-year contracts by the airline with responsibility to handle some 1,800 flights per annum and serve over 210,000 passengers annually. This will include check-in, lost & found, boarding and flight arrivals as well as security services.

Aerolineas Argentinas currently operates 72 flights per month ex São Paulo, 58 services from Rio de Janiero and 18 departures ex Brasilia. All flights are operated by Boeing 737 aircraft and are direct services to Buenos Aires.

The new contracts extend Orbital’s working relationship with the airline, which has been a customer of Orbital’s specialist aviation security services for the last three years in São Paulo and Porto Alegre. Under the terms of the agreements, Orbital’s local teams will provide ramp and passenger services for Aerolineas Argentinas in São Paulo and Rio de Janiero, and aviation security services in Brasilia, covering aircraft access control and baggage screening.

Rubens Pereira Leitão Filho, CEO at Orbital commented: “These three new contracts emphasise our growing strategic partnership with Aerolineas Argentinas, which has been an important customer of Orbital for many years. We can support their requirements due to our strong presence at these major airport gateways in Brazil and the respected ground handling skills of our local teams. We hope this will also lead to more opportunities to serve Aerolineas Argentinas and its customers at more airports across WFS’ global network.”

Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) took its first step into the Latin America ground handling market when it acquired a controlling shareholding in Orbital Group in 2014. Today, Orbital employs over 5,800 staff at 16 airports in Brazil, offering passenger, ramp, ground and cargo handling services for more than 30 airline customers.