• Ground handlers and airports are under pressure to modernise equipment, electrify fleets and improve transparency, with regulatory clarity and adequate power infrastructure emerging as critical enablers for emissions reduction.
• Çelebi Aviation is pursuing long-term expansion in emerging markets, prioritising consistent safety and service standards across diverse airport types and focusing on strategic contribution rather than short-term returns.
• Digitalisation is advancing through data-driven turnaround management, enhanced cargo visibility and cautious adoption of AI tools, aimed at improving operational accuracy, employee experience and customer expectations for end-to-end transparency.

Ground handling providers are facing pressure to modernise equipment, meet emissions reporting requirements and respond to changing cargo and passenger flows. Increased scrutiny on operational transparency, tightened labour markets and demand for faster cargo processing continue to reshape service models across airports.

Airports and handlers are moving to electrify ground service equipment and cut operational emissions, driven by both regulatory targets and customer expectations. The timeline for decarbonising aircraft remains long, placing greater immediate responsibility on ground operations.

Çelebi Aviation has highlighted the need for clarity in regulatory frameworks to support infrastructure planning, particularly power availability for charging equipment. The ability to electrify fleets depends on airport-grid capacity and permissions for on-site generation.

“If the authorities are going to set certain targets, it is good to know what those targets are, so that you can plan and invest behind them,” said Dave Dorner, Group Chief Executive Officer at Çelebi Aviation. “One of the first and foremost things we can do as an industry is to set clear guidelines of what is expected, because that allows us to invest. If there is a consistency across markets, that is also helpful, so you do not have a kind of competition on regulatory environments.

“If the airport does not have sufficient power supply to electrify our fleet, and at the same time has regulations that determine a certain percent of the fleet must be electric, there is a mismatch. You are asking us to do something that we can do, but then we cannot actually run it without support.

“The total cost of ownership of most electrical equipment is now lower than the diesel alternative. It might be a little bit higher upfront investment, but actually over the lifetime, it is lower, so it is in our interest to go green in that sense.”

Emerging economy networks

Ground handling networks are expanding in regions with rising passenger numbers and domestic cargo flows. Çelebi has prioritised long term positioning in emerging markets rather than short-term yield optimisation.

Recent developments illustrate this approach, including its entry into Indonesia, where geography and population scale create sustained air transport demand. Variability between gateway hubs and smaller domestic airports requires differentiated service models while maintaining common safety and management standards.

Long-view investment is central to this expansion planning and consistency across station sizes is a key operational requirement.

“We have been in the business for over 65 years. We do not look at what the investment return will be next year; it is really looking at it from a long term perspective,” Dorner said. “We see the centre of gravity moving eastward. We are an emerging market-focused player. We are not looking at North America as a target market. We are looking at emerging markets and asking what the opportunity is in the short, medium and long term to invest.

“If the market is growing, that is a positive. But we ask what we can add in that market if we are going to enter it. We do not want to be just a ground handler. We want to be an important stakeholder that contributes to overall growth.”

What you need in Jakarta might be similar to what you need in Istanbul. What you need in a very small airport in a very small community might be similar whether it is in Turkey or Indonesia. We have to see where we can add value in each segment, because we cannot cherry pick and say we do not want those stations.”

Data-led safety and operational transparency

Digitalisation continues across cargo and passenger operations, though ground handling remains labour intensive. The priority is improving situational awareness and documentation rather than replacing frontline roles.

Çelebi has expanded data collection across turnarounds and warehousing to reduce reliance on anecdotal reporting and manual audits. The company is also testing AI-based video support tools for real-time performance review, while maintaining safeguards on employee privacy.

 “The way that you enhance the employee experience, enhance productivity and enhance quality, is to give the right tools to people,” Dorner said. “The more that you can provide data to everyone and make it less about anecdotal, ad hoc observation, it improves everybody’s experience, including the employees.”

Cargo transparency expectations have shifted with online retail logistics. “Everybody expects that you are going to know every single step of where a shipment is,” he said. “That was not the case even eight to ten years ago, but now it is simply the expectation.”