Ground_Support_September2020 - 18

COVER STORY

Important Relationships

is utilizing disposable flatware and plates
whenever feasible. Moreover, they should
train the ground team members to park
the aircraft and maintain distance and
ensure they do not interact with the passengers or baggage," he says. "When on the
ground, they should institute a rope at the
bottom of the stairs to deter unauthorized
personnel from entering the aircraft and
provide a cart for passengers to secure
their own luggage. They should also limit
the handling of passenger luggage so as to
have them maintain responsibility of their
own luggage and personal items and ensure
that flight crew, line service and maintenance personnel have gloves available and
required while handling the baggage, as
necessary."
Aragon emphasizes that one of the current big challenges under the "new normal"
is COVID-19 testing.
"Most places require a negative COVID19 test within 48 hours before allowing
entry. This is a challenge for operators,
especially in the United States, where test
results can take up to a week to get back," he
says. "We have established testing centers
at several of our FBOs around the world,
that can deliver results in 24-hours or less.
This greatly enhances the operators' ability
to travel, especially in Europe."

Photo courtesy of dnata

by a number of countries over passengers
coming from other countries," Gamba adds.
"The lists of the countries whose originating passengers are required to quarantine
are different from Country A to Country
B and obviously this makes the situation
extremely complex."
According to Le Duc, some of the
"new normal" includes closer scrutiny of
the medical screenings by governmental
authorities at the airport.
"More entities involved with the
approval processes for flights will add
processing time and increase costs longterm. Many countries are expecting the
aircraft to be sanitized prior to arrival,"
he says. "Although there is no evidence
COVID-19 is transmitted through food,
it is a high-visibility item that can be an
area of concern for many travelers. The
operators should take the time to help the
flight attendants connect with reputable
catering sources and coordinate with the
caterer and the flight attendants to minimize person-to-person contact."
The operators should also ensure the
catering does not utilize shareable trays and
limits offerings to individually wrapped
snack plates, according to Le Duc.
"Offering pre-packaged meals as catering options is highly encouraged and so

18 GROUND SUPPORT WORLDWIDE

SEPTEMBER 2020

Ground handlers have continued to deliver
air services and have taken on new roles
to support airline customers amid the
COVID-19 challenges.
"We have also continued to support
airlines in maintaining global trade and
the flow of essential goods by delivering
cargo services. What we see, as a result of
COVID-19, in express air cargo now and
for the foreseeable future is the surge of
freighters and charter flights. The demand
for PPE, hand sanitizers, medical equipment has significantly increased. Neither
governments, nor businesses or individuals
could afford to wait weeks for these supplies to arrive via sea cargo. We have played
a critical role in keeping the supply chain
going," says Goovaerts.
"In response to the strong air cargo
market demand for the rapid, reliable and
efficient transportation of essential commodities, several airlines have introduced
additional cargo capacity by using passenger aircraft with seats fully or partially
removed from the cabin," he continues. "To
adapt to changing customer needs, we have
enhanced services, improved processes
and trained employees to safely and efficiently handle passenger planes carrying
cargo only."
The implementation of new health and
hygiene measures have been key as airlines
look to rebuild passenger confidence in
air travel.
"Ground handlers have had to be
responsive and supportive of the implementation of social distancing measures
and rigorous cleaning regimes, among other
new protocols," says Walker. "We have also
had to put in place measures to bring our
own teams back to work safely. The focus
across it all has been on balancing the
safe and effective implementation of these
measures while ensuring that operational
efficiency is not compromised."
The operators expect to have their partners develop a COVID-19 plan that closely
mirrors their own, according to Le Duc.
"They want to see a strict adherence
to the standard protocol. The passengers
who utilize business aviation the most have
largely the same profile of some of the highest risk people. So COVID-19 protocols are
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