Contract in the balance as state finds holes in airport services
THE FUTURE of the ground-handling contracts at the island’s two airports is still in the balance, after the government said yesterday it was not satisfied with the improvements made so far.
The two joint ventures which make up the ground-handling companies have been blamed for the recent chaos at the island’s airports.
According to a statement from the Communications Ministry, the possibility of suspending the contract was still being examined, as they were not yet convinced that the necessary improvements had been made.
“Despite the response by both the airport operator and the ground-handling companies, who made a move in the right direction, there are still deficiencies in the provision of ground-handling services,” the statement said.
Makis Constantinides, the Permanent Secretary of the Communications Ministry told state television last night that checks were being run every 24 hours on the ground-handling services.
“The results speak for themselves,” he said. “Gaps remain and we are not satisfied so all options are still on the table”.
Since the transfer of the ground-handling operations from Hermes to Swissport-GAP Vassilopoulos and a second company, LGS at the end of May, services at both the Larnaca and Paphos terminals have experienced major problems.
However it was not until a number of high profile blunders made the headlines that the Communications Minister decided to issue the two companies with an ultimatum stating that if the problems were not rectified by July 7, he would instruct airport operator Hermes to break off the contract with the companies.
On July 1, a group of passengers were boarded onto the wrong flight at Larnaca airport, while some of the other problems included excessive delays in the area of baggage claims and baggage handling in general, staff shortages and the deployment of staff who could not speak Greek.
This lead Head of the Cypriot Air-Accident Investigation Committee Costas Orfanos to warn that the crisis at both Larnaca and Paphos airports could affect flight security, something that was at the time rejected by Hermes.
In yesterday’s statement, the Communications Ministry said that the overall legal and contractual responsibility for the services provided by the airport lay with the operator.
“Hermes has an obligation to secure the smooth operation of the airports, even in the case that the Civil Aviation Department recalls the license for the ground-handling services of one or both of the companies,” the statement said.
Hermes had hoped that the ordeal was over after the companies announced that they would bring in over 100 additional workers and the government had approved their action plan which included a number of measures they would be taking in order to alleviate the crisis.
However representatives from the Ministry and the Civil Aviation Department will continue to oversee the state of affairs at both Larnaca and Paphos airports and only if the improvements made are in line with these plans would the matter be considered closed.
