Lisbon, Oct. 16, 2025 (Lusa) - The jury for the tender for ground handling at Lisbon, Porto and Faro airports considered that the Clece/South consortium's proposal provided a better allocation of human and material resources than Menzies'.
In the preliminary report to which Lusa had access, the jury led by Sofia Simões awarded the Clece/South group, from the Iberia universe, a score of 95.2523, while Menzies (formerly Groundforce) finished with a score of 93.0526.
Acciona, which also submitted a bid, was excluded because certain documents did not comply with the legal provisions.
The preliminary report issued by the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) pointed out that, when choosing the winner, one of the criteria was to present tables identifying the minimum number of material resources (NMM) and human resources (NMH) "to be allocated to baggage handling, cargo and mail handling and runway operations, per airport, for two theoretical scenarios".
And it was on this point, called the theoretical exercise with two scenarios per airport, that the Spanish consortium Clece/South scored better than Menzies, with the scores being the same for the other assessment criteria - material resources and human resources.
In these last two criteria, factors such as the most environmentally favourable equipment, the age of the equipment, the experience of the workers and employees on permanent contracts were assessed.
"Having analysed the bids submitted, the jury proposes the selection of the bidder whose bid was ranked first, Clece, S.A.", according to the document, "to provide ground handling services to third parties, for a period of seven years" for Lisbon, Porto and Faro airports.
"It is further proposed that the bidders, if they so wish, give their opinion in writing within a maximum of five working days from the date this report is made available on the electronic platform, under the right of prior hearing," it said.
In a statement released on Thursday, Menzies Aviation said that on Wednesday it was "formally notified of the results of the preliminary report issued by the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) regarding the tender for the renewal of activity licences at the three airports on the Portuguese mainland - Lisbon (LIS), Porto (OPO) and Faro (FAO)," the company said.
"Menzies regrets this result and does not agree with the classification awarded," it said, 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 (formerly Groundforce) by Menzies Aviation in 2024, "it has maintained a strong operational performance, high compliance standards and constructive labour relations, underpinned by a Company Agreement that protects employee rights and ensures service stability".
The group believes that its proposal "represents the best overall value and the lowest risk for ANAC and the general public".
"Based on our analysis of the other proposals submitted, we believe that there are multiple objective and technical grounds for challenging ANAC's preliminary report, in accordance with the deadlines established by the tender procedure," it emphasised.
ALN/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
