Menzies Aviation secures seven-year ground handling licences in Portugal

Menzies Aviation has secured seven-year ground handling licences at Portugal’s three largest airports — Lisbon, Porto and Faro — after the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) completed its tender. The regulator confirmed that SPdH — Serviços Portugueses de Handling, SA met applicable legal and regulatory requirements and demonstrated the technical capacity to provide ground handling services to third parties.

The licences cover baggage handling at Lisbon, Porto and Faro. Cargo and mail handling is authorised at Lisbon and Porto, while ground handling operations are permitted at all three airports. Menzies said the seven-year licences would provide long-term certainty for customers, employees and airport partners, while supporting further investment and growth across its Portuguese operations.

Portugal is one of Menzies’ largest European markets, where the company employs more than 3,500 people and supports over 100,000 aircraft turns every year. In addition to Lisbon, Porto and Faro, it operates at Funchal and Porto Santo airports in Madeira. Menzies acquired a majority stake in SPdH from TAP Air Portugal in 2024 and took full ownership in June 2026; SPdH was previously known as Groundforce Portugal. TAP remains a Menzies customer. Miguel Gomez Sjunnesson, Executive Vice President Europe at Menzies Aviation, said Portugal welcomed a record 72.5 million passengers in 2025, an increase of 4.7% from the previous year. ANAC said the tender process followed the principles of legality, transparency, impartiality and equal treatment of competitors, and that it will continue to monitor compliance with the legal, regulatory and operational requirements applicable to the licensed activities.