Pride of Ground Handling Awards 2018 Winners
Unsung Hero Award Winner
Krish Chand, Swissport Canada Handling
Krish started out as a baggage handler 19 years ago and his boundless energy and passion for the job has never waned. He has seized new responsibilities and works as a fueling manager, leadership trainer, mentor and high-performance culture change ambassador.
Our judges said: "Krish is highly valued by the whole community from management to his peers. He goes above and beyond to encourage others into our industry and makes you feel good about the future of ground handling."
Krish started out as a baggage handler 19 years ago and his boundless energy and passion for the job has never waned. He has seized new responsibilities and works as a fueling manager, leadership trainer, mentor and high-performance culture change ambassador.
Our judges said: "Krish is highly valued by the whole community from management to his peers. He goes above and beyond to encourage others into our industry and makes you feel good about the future of ground handling."
Rising Star Award Winner
Nick Ward, Swissport, Brisbane Airport
Near perfect OTP, outstanding staff engagement scores and the go to guy for airline customers who want to guarantee quality ground services– it’s all in day’s work for Nick Ward, acting station manager at Brisbane Airport.
The judges said: “Nick embodies a visionary leadership style and has an ability to lift the performance of those around him. Nick has improved OTP and significantly reduced overtime through smarter scheduling and upskilling colleagues to work across multiple departments. Nick is a beautifully balanced leader with a blend of diligence and personal dynamism.”
Near perfect OTP, outstanding staff engagement scores and the go to guy for airline customers who want to guarantee quality ground services– it’s all in day’s work for Nick Ward, acting station manager at Brisbane Airport.
The judges said: “Nick embodies a visionary leadership style and has an ability to lift the performance of those around him. Nick has improved OTP and significantly reduced overtime through smarter scheduling and upskilling colleagues to work across multiple departments. Nick is a beautifully balanced leader with a blend of diligence and personal dynamism.”
Ramp Safety Award Winner
Steve Mitchell, Stobart Aviation Services, London Stansted Airport
Steve wins the award for his quick thinking and collaborative approach to ground safety. He seized the initiative when an aircraft being pushed by a neighbouring handler lined up for take-off with an unsecured hold door. Eagle-eyed Steve, radioed the Tower and aircraft with the warning.
Our judges said: “Steve took ownership of this incident, even though it wasn’t his operation. That is emblematic of a strong safety culture and is something that our entire industry should seek to replicate.”
Steve wins the award for his quick thinking and collaborative approach to ground safety. He seized the initiative when an aircraft being pushed by a neighbouring handler lined up for take-off with an unsecured hold door. Eagle-eyed Steve, radioed the Tower and aircraft with the warning.
Our judges said: “Steve took ownership of this incident, even though it wasn’t his operation. That is emblematic of a strong safety culture and is something that our entire industry should seek to replicate.”
Best Handler−Airline Innovation Award Winner
Swissport-Finnair, Helsinki
Our handler: airline teams co-developed an early warning app to flag up late arriving flights hours earlier than standard modes of communication allow. The advanced warning tool gives critical extra time to Swissport teams to accommodate off schedule arrivals.
Our judges said: “This a great example of airline: handler teamwork and addresses one of the biggest challenges for the ground handling community: dealing with off schedule movements and allocation of resources.”
Our handler: airline teams co-developed an early warning app to flag up late arriving flights hours earlier than standard modes of communication allow. The advanced warning tool gives critical extra time to Swissport teams to accommodate off schedule arrivals.
Our judges said: “This a great example of airline: handler teamwork and addresses one of the biggest challenges for the ground handling community: dealing with off schedule movements and allocation of resources.”
Best Station Award Winner
Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals (HACTL), Hong Kong
Our judges hailed Hactl’s Hong Kong’s Air Cargo team as putting together “a near flawless” ground operation.
The team took on a 60% increase in handling volumes last year, while continue to deliver world-class OTP scores - just 1 in 10,000 departures experienced a delay. There wasn’t a solitary incident of ground damage to report across nearly 30,000 freighters handled. It’s driven by a highly engaged and expert team whos passion for a perfect job spurs them to go above and beyond for their airline customers. It doesn’t go unnoticed with 27 unsolicited thank you letters and emails from airlines lauding the team’s outstanding performance in the last year.
Our judges hailed Hactl’s Hong Kong’s Air Cargo team as putting together “a near flawless” ground operation.
The team took on a 60% increase in handling volumes last year, while continue to deliver world-class OTP scores - just 1 in 10,000 departures experienced a delay. There wasn’t a solitary incident of ground damage to report across nearly 30,000 freighters handled. It’s driven by a highly engaged and expert team whos passion for a perfect job spurs them to go above and beyond for their airline customers. It doesn’t go unnoticed with 27 unsolicited thank you letters and emails from airlines lauding the team’s outstanding performance in the last year.
