The aviation sector as a whole is undergoing a transformation and the need to adapt to an ever-changing environment like never before. Air travel was close to a standstill with airlines grounded and country borders closed, resulting in the subsequent downfall of travel demand. While the recovery of the passenger segment was expected to occur albeit, in a phased manner, fear, health concerns, varying quarantine requirements coupled with the economic impact and reduced disposable incomes might curtail the inclination to fly for some time to come.

By Ramanathan Rajamani, CEO, AISATS

As one of the hero industries, Aviation continued to remain functional and played a pivotal role in helping move people and cargo. This industry ensured that essential people, goods, and lifesaving interventions moved not only within our country but across the world.The Ground handling industry, one of the critical functions and backbone of air transportation has showcased remarkable adaptability and displayed higher levels of productivity and end-user connectivity despite working under restricted conditions.As an invisible value creator in the chain, during the lockdown and the ongoing pandemic, companies in this space with no financial support from the Government have had to reorganize its skilled resource and make structural changes to the organization to ensure the business remains sustainable. This experience has forced the industry to relook at their talent pool and embrace initiatives that have long-lasting value-added impact for our customers.In a nutshell, we are witnessing transformation across operational facets of the aviation industry that are unique and we expect the trend to continue to evolve as we go forward.

The Unseen Story
Converting the trust of nations and surviving at ground zero, the aviation industry’s Ground Handling Agents(GHA) emerged as a strong force to reckon with. Simply put, it was their sense of complete fearlessness, driven by the need to help and serve, and the sheer grit and determination to their work that perhaps was a major contributor in minimizing the devastating impact on customers and the business and has helped build a path to recovery.

These brave front-line warriors who dared to step out when most of us had the privilege of settling in at safe places at home, deserve our highest recognition and gratitude. Our ground handling agents were the unsung heroes out there every step of the way to ensure all the repatriation and cargo flights flowing in and out of the country were attended to, managed professionally, and sanitized effectively. Their commitment and contribution helped nations globally carry on with the challenging task of keeping people and cargo mobilized even as the fight against the virus continues.

Perhaps, I am one of the fortunate individuals who was close enough to have seen and felt the contributions made by these exceptional individuals. I was overwhelmed and thankful to see how our employees, our partners, and the industry came together to work relentlessly in making it a success. It is a contribution that I hope will not be forgotten.

Embracing New Innovations to Drive Business
Technology has and will continue to play a pivotal role in elevating different responsibilities of the airport and passenger management to minimise contact while supporting customers. A critical task to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is physical distancing and newer technologies are helping airports, and ground handling agencies to implement distancing solutions.

Critical functions such as check-in, bag drop, security, and boarding check-in now demand modernizations like facial recognition and thermal scans as sustained routines to make the travel experience easier and faster for passengers.

On-ground implementation of technological interventions such as passenger management solutions to keep passengers and operational staff safe using artificial intelligence that automates passenger counting and crowd concentration management as digital solutions should be given serious consideration.

Similarly, the concept of “touchless” possibilities including touchless data-entry such as gesture control, touchless document scanning, and voice commands must be explored and implemented. This will help in supporting the collective mission of authorities and governments to keep travel patrons safe.
Continuous operational upgrades in baggage handling and UVC cleaning for disinfection of aircraft and other related vehicles on the Apron are requirements that mandate enhanced digital solutions so as to increase safety and efficiency. With passengers already exposed to the need of increased self-service solutions such as the baggage drop, interactions between passengers and ground-handling staff can continue to be limited as a safety measure while efficiency and service stay top of mind.

With a focus on the centralizing of key functions or services by Airport operators (where possible), a reduction in the duplication of resources and touch points will ultimately result in the reduction of manpower currently being deployed by Ground Hanldling Agencies and Airports/Airlines. This is an opportunity for all stakeholders to either re-deploy personnel to increasing customer service engagement and/or for GHA’s to ensure long-term sustainability of the business by scaling down on manpower requirements across key or cross-over roles and functions.

Need For a Cross-Industry Partnership
To overcome the new challenges ahead and to make things far more effective, cross-industry collaboration among the various stakeholders is the need of the hour. What could be called a blessing in disguise is that this pandemic has compelled the rethinking of priorities in Aviation and it is becoming increasingly clear that the need of the hour is for the Aviation industry at large to step forward and support each other as a society.

The industry has thus far witnessed limited to minimal support by the relevant authorities and the opportunity for the Government to support innovative initiatives or investments in Aviation by stakeholders should be given serious consideration if this country’s Aviation story is to set new global standards in the years to come.

Path to Recovery: Gearing Up For New Challenges
Even though we continue to explore the new world together, there are still undiscovered factors, which may cause challenges in the future. We faced a number of these challenges under adverse conditions and became familiar with the evolving methods in how to tackle the many fears and challenges faced by all. Now, as we march back into the world, we aim to be better equipped, more aware and deploy a highly skilled workforce to ensure this crisis has minimal bearing on our customers and the collective objective of the Aviation industry – to get people flying again and focus on increased cargo movements in a safe and efficient manner.

Paving the path towards recovery however requires a determined and collective effort by the Government toward the creation of a renewed and focused policy and relief measures in Aviation for all stakeholders and not just the Airlines.

SMEs have been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis, and they represent roughly 90% of private-sector firms, creating more than 50 percent of the jobs in developing markets. The government has put efforts to create quite a bit of liquidity in the market, however, the real challenge now is to take that liquidity down in the hands of the MSME.
Ground handling services play a pivotal role at domestic and international airports to help perform the operations such as refueling and powering of aircraft while they are on ground along with baggage handling and the movement of passengers. The growth or demise of the ground handling industry is directly linked to all other stakeholders in the aviation industry, which was one of the first ones to bear the impact and undergo complete shutdowns.

In India, the Ground Handling Companies (handling both Passenger and Cargo flights) employ anything between 50,000-65,000 highly skilled people and collectively the GH companies have lost close to 90% of their core business but have continued to retain over 70% of the respective workforce. This cannot continue and if we and others in the industry are to remain sustainable in the long run while maintaining the highest levels of efficiency and capabilities in a fiercely competitive global arena the government must step in and provide the necessary stimulus package.

In combination, a complex situation must be planned, controlled, and managed. An economic efficiency needs to be maintained while there are changing demands and changed rules. How as an industry we come together and plan a recovery path for the operations will be crucial and ultimately will minimize the risks of unsettling operations and ensure continuous evolution.

As the situation casts a deep impression and calls out for rigorous action, it also becomes important to self-realize and self-educate about the surroundings. Such habits not only will help in navigating through the crisis but also enhance an individual’s capacity to outperform and support others.
The main purpose now is to get back on our feet, hold the ground, and aim for the sky safely…yet again.

( Published in Aviation World Jan-Feb 2021 Edition)