Swissport now provides ground handling services for Ethiopian Airlines at Kilimanjaro Airport

Swissport has managed to win over the Ethiopian Airlines as its new client at the Kilimanjaro International Airport in Northern Tanzania.

Official reports indicate that Swissport, which has been providing services at other Tanzanian terminals, will be delivering full airport ground services for the Ethiopian airline.

Swissport Tanzania will be responsible for Ethiopian Airlines’ passenger and ramp services at the country’s Northern Zone International entry portal.

Swissport will also be responsible for handling Ethiopian Airlines cargo at KIA.

Swissport Tanzania is the subsidiary of Swissport International Limited and a leading ground and cargo handling services provider in the country, operating at the Julius Kambarage Nyerere and Kilimanjaro International Airports.

Ethiopian Airlines on the other hand, offer direct and round trips between Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) in Tanzania and both the London Gatwick and London Heathrow terminals.

Kilimanjaro happens to be Tanzania’s second largest and third busiest airport which is a portal to the country’s tourism attractions such as Mount Kilimanjaro, the Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara and Serengeti National Parks.

The terminal stands right at the center of Tanzania’s three Northern Zone Regions of Arusha, Kilimanjaro and Manyara.

The terminal handles nearly one million in travellers’ traffic per annum, with the Ethiopian and Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) being the leading feeders.

But with Ethiopian Airlines winning Africa’s largest and most important airline as a customer, Swissport on the other hand is already providing airport ground services for the airline at many other airports around the world.

In 2023, Swissport handled a total of 2,796 passenger flights and 5,224 cargo flights for Ethiopian Airline globally.

The company provided airport ground services for the other 3.9 million flights and served 232 million passengers worldwide.

Ethiopian Airline’s passenger traffic comprised 141,000 arriving and 206,000 departing passengers, while 69,148 tons of cargo was processed at 33 airports worldwide.

The Addis-Ababa based Ethiopian flag carrier happens to be the largest airline on the continent in terms of passengers carried, destinations served, fleet size, and revenue.