The ground handling provider Swissport was excluded from the award process for a license at Rome Fiumicino Airport. The company wants to challenge the decision legally because it is of the opinion that all requirements would be met.

It's about the license that is required to be able to offer its ground handling services in Rome-Fiumicino for the next seven years. Aviapartner Italia, Aviation Service and Airport Handling are said to have already won the contract. Swissport, however, was not taken into account.

The matter is piquant because around 2.300 former Alitalia employees work in this company. Swissport won a tender and bought Alitalia's former ground handling division out of the insolvency estate. Now the company is threatened with forced withdrawal from Rome-Fiumicino. They want to prevent this because the so-called ranking list that led to the award is to be legally challenged.

“We are dismayed by the preliminary handling tender ranking announced by Aeroporti di Roma, which excludes our company from the list of three handlers qualified to provide ramp services at Rome Fiumicino Airport. We are of course waiting for the final confirmation of the results after checking the requirements submitted by the other competitors. In any case, Swissport has already instructed its lawyers to immediately challenge the ranking and request that the award be suspended. “The deficiencies in the process and the incorrect awarding of points to the detriment of our company are obvious from the first review of the tender documents,” said Swissport in a statement.

Italy boss Marina Bottelli said: “Swissport will challenge the ranking and the award if it is confirmed and is determined to take legal action to protect its own interests and the interests of more than 2.300 former Alitalia employees.”

It was only in the summer of 2022 that the ground handling activities of the insolvent Alitalia could be taken over. According to the company's own information, around half of the airlines that fly to Rome-Fiumicino are customers. They are also active in Milan-Linate, where they have also taken over former Alitalia divisions.