Swissport International last year served only 82 million airline passengers after 265 million in 2019 (-68.9 percent). The number of flights handled for some 500 airline customers globally, a number which is more closely related to revenue, declined to 1.7 million from 4.1 million in 2019 (-59.0 percent vs. 2019).

Air cargo handled dropped to 4.1 million tons from 4.6 million tons in 2019 (-12.3 percent) and proofed to be much more resilient than the ground services business.

“After a devastating 2020, we expect regionally varied market recoveries for the second half of 2021,” commented Christoph Mueller, Group President & CEO of Swissport International AG.

“Last year has been extraordinarily difficult for the entire sector. Covid-19 has essentially wiped out airline demand for the classic ground services business between March and the end of the year.

“Demand for air cargo logistics was also very heavily impacted but still fared better and helped stabilise the company. For the second half of 2021, we believe a robust rebound could be possible in some regions while other regions will continue to suffer for some time. The speed at which vaccination protection is established at domestic level and on individual continents, as well as entry regulations between countries, will be crucial here – especially for the private travel segment.”

Swissport’s revenue decreased by roughly 50 percent compared to 2019, due to the unprecedented decline in global demand for air travel and, as a consequence, airport ground services. The rapid recovery of the air cargo segment from mid-2020 contributed positively to the overall result.