may2024 - 34

Ground Support Spotlight
Spotlight on:
Jo Alex Tanem
The CEO at Aviator Airport Alliance has remained engaged with the
industry thanks to its dynamic atmosphere and interesting people.
BY JOSH SMITH
Ground Support Worldwide:
What attracted you to a career in the
ground support industry?
Jo Alex Tanem: I've always loved
aviation. I trained as a pilot many
years ago, and served 15 months in
the Air Force.
GSW: What has kept you engaged
in the industry?
JAT: The dynamic atmosphere and
very interesting people.
GSW: What's the best advice
you've been given while working in
this field?
JAT: " Never let a good crisis go to
waste. " I know it's a Churchill quote,
but with all the crises we've seen -
the Gulf crisis, 9/11, Iceland volcano,
COVID - it's very important to meet
any crisis head-on and take advantage
of the doors that open while
most doors get shut.
GSW: How have you seen the
ground support industry change
the most during your career?
JAT: Efficiency demands, shorter
ground stops, higher tempo in
basically everything, environmental
focus and self-service on the
passenger side.
GSW: Have these changes been
to the benefit or detriment of the
industry?
JAT: A benefit for the industry, as a
whole, and definitely to the benefit of
the travelers. But it puts a strain on
ground operations.
GSW: For ground service
providers looking to reduce their
environmental impact, what are
the first steps required to increase
green operations?
JAT: It's extremely important to get
all the stakeholders on board.
We need the airport to invest in
the infrastructure to enable us to
use electric equipment. We also
need for the equipment, that in the
close future cannot be electric, we
need then help from (manufacturers)
to provide us with (vehicles that
use) the likes of HVO fuel.
The most important thing is to sit
down and dialogue with the airport
operator to try to find solutions to
make these achievable goals. You
can have a plan of going 100-percent
electric in two years, but if you don't
have enough charging infrastructure,
you can't.
GSW: When working with the
other stakeholders, are there
particular talking points or use
cases you can bring to an airport
to help that side of the partnership
realize the benefits of making
these investments into more
sustainable operations?
JAT: In any dialogue with the airport
authorities that we have, we need
the help of the airlines. The airlines
have a lot more power than us to
influence what the airport does. So,
we also use our bigger airlines in the
area to help us in that dialogue and
help push the airports.
But also, the airport operator is
34 || Ground Support Worldwide || May 2024
Job Title: CEO
Company: Aviator Airport Alliance
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Years with Current Company: 8
Previous Employers in the
Industry: Phoenix East Aviation,
Archer Aviation
very interested in this. They want to
be green. They want to brag, themselves,
about being green and what
they do for sustainability.
We need to work together. We need
to go hand-in-hand to try to make
this achievable.
GSW: What's the next big thing
coming to the ground support
industry?
JAT: Standardized regulations.
GSW: What type of an impact will
it make?
JAT: Hopefully more similar processes
and procedures between
the airlines.
GSW: What would you say to
encourage someone to join the
ground support industry?
JAT: This must be one of the most
challenging, vibrant and fun industries
to work in.
may2024

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