Lisbon, Oct. 16, 2025 (Lusa) - The Aviation and Airport Workers' Union (Sitava) expressed its disbelief and indignation on Thursday at the regulator's preliminary decision to award an airport handling licence to Clece/South, excluding Menzies (formerly Grondforce).
"Although this report is preliminary and can therefore be challenged in the appropriate courts, the fact that the conditions laid down in the recovery plan for the award of licences have not been met leaves us dumbfounded, to say the least," the union said in a statement, in which it said it received the news "with a mixture of incredulity and indignation".
Menzies lost the tender for the renewal of ground handling licences at the three mainland airports of Lisbon, Porto and Faro and will contest the results.
According to various media outlets, the jury chose a Spanish consortium comprising Clece and South, owned by Spain's Iberia.
"This is a moment in which we must all maintain great serenity and hope that after an appeal, the final decision will be to award the licences to whoever demonstrates that they have the human and material resources, as well as customers, to be able to ensure ground handling activity for the next seven years," Sitava stressed.
For the union, this decision can only be taken by those who fulfil the requirements - SPdH.
It also criticised the "climate of instability and conflict that small groups of irresponsible people have created dressed up as trade unionists, putting the operation of the main client at risk, and even more seriously, the 4,000 or so jobs".
"As we have warned many times, this anarchy could have serious consequences," Sitava emphasised, considering that "the scenario of ungovernability that was experienced on many occasions was certainly not indifferent when it came to making decisions."
Menzies regretted this result today and said that it did not agree with the classification awarded, indicating that it believes that its proposal "presents proven operational excellence, continuity and a fully qualified workforce, made up of more than 3,500 employees who have consistently provided high safety and quality services to customers and the community".
The company recalled that since the acquisition of SPdH in 2024, "the company has maintained a strong operational performance, high compliance standards and constructive labour relations, underpinned by a Company Agreement that protects employee rights and ensures the stability of services".
The group believes that its proposal "represents the best overall value and the lowest risk for ANAC and the general public" and fears that this decision "could cause significant operational disruption and uncertainty for thousands of employees, customers and jeopardise the stability of the sector".
It will therefore "immediately initiate the formal appeal process and resort to all available means to ensure that the integrity and fairness of the result are fully reviewed, as stipulated in the tender rules".
Contacted by Lusa, ANAC said only that "within the scope of the tender procedure, the competitors were notified by the jury of the preliminary report" and that this is "normal and regular procedure within the scope of the tender".
The regulator emphasised that "the bidders will now have the period to present their opinion", stressing that "the final report has not been drawn up, nor is there any decision or selection of the service provider at this stage".
MPE/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
