What may sound like a Sherlock Holmes story was, in fact, the title of a panel at the recent Aviation Connect event in Istanbul, Türkiye: ‘The Case for Minimum Ground/Cargo Handling Operating Standards,’ moderated by ACHL’s own Chairperson, Henrik Ambak. He brought together IATA’s Director Ground Operations, Monika Mejstrikova, TIACA’s Director General, Glyn Hughes, Wilson Kwong, CEO of HACTL, Julia Egerer, EASA’s Aerodromes Standards & Implementation Section Manager, and KLM’s Director Operational Integrity, Compliance & Safety – ISCM, Kester Meijer, to assess the status quo and discuss the need for uniform ground /cargo handling standards across the aviation industry.
17 different ways to chock an A320? Surely not? Unfortunately, yes. That is the reality that some ground handlers face. Why? Because practically every airline has its own interpretation of the IATA Ground Operations Manual, known as IGOM, which serves as a benchmark for harmonized ground handling practices. Monika Mejstrikova, IATA’s Director of Ground Operations, was positive when outlining the evolution of the IGOM which has seen 13 years of progress with input from airlines, GHAs, and airports. The IGOM has become a mature standard, though its implementation remains inconsistent. Yet, this is improving. “The challenge isn’t the existence of standards — it’s their consistent adoption. The average number of variations in 2023 was 22. This year, it has dropped to 17. We are making good progress and heading the right way, but there is work still to be done,” she summarized, basing her opinion on data drawn from IATA’s Operational Portal (launched in 2022), which monitors regulatory adherence.
So many standards…
Standardized procedures play a crucial role in ensuring safety, efficiency, and regulatory compliance. By law and regulations, the airline operator is the ultimate accountable entity for flight operations and ground operations, even if the responsibility for the latter has been outsourced. For many companies, the IGOM forms the standard baseline. However, not only is it interpreted differently by different stakeholders, they may often also add additional requirements and standards that the GHA needs to abide by. And some GHAs may also have their own standards, such as HACTL, which places great importance on what it calls the 4 S: Safety, Security, Service Quality, and Sustainability. HACTL CEO, Wilson Kwong, explains the domino effect challenge that no central agreement on standards brings: “We were the first ground handler to be accredited with ISAGO* when it launched. But we handle over 100 customers and carry out ground handling for freighters for over 60 airlines. 11 of those airlines have B747F and each has a different policy on top of IGOM / ISAGO. I respect that, but from a ground handler point of view, this requires much effort in training – in our case, for 2,300 people!”
So little time…
Training is one issue – another time consuming one deflecting from the GHAs actual work is audits: “We need to reduce number of audits! […] Prior to Covid, we had 2-3 audits per week – more than 100 per annum. During Covid, this moved to online audits. Yet, 2023 again saw 70+ audits,” Kwong continues. This is difficult, particularly since manpower is a real constraint, these days. And the inconsistency makes attracting new talent all the more difficult. KLM’s Director Operational Integrity, Compliance & Safety – ISCM, Kester Meijer, illustrated the many factors and bodies influencing or exerting requirements on air cargo, in an elaborate flipchart drawing. His messages were: “A student entering the industry – where can they go to read how we do stuff?” He also warned against ‘minimum’ standards: “If you don’t raise the bar, people jump low.” And the crux of the matter, when it comes to harmonization of standards: “Who is the competent authority, and how do you mitigate things that go wrong,” in a global industry.
Making rules is like making sausages
One very welcome solution is the work that EASA is doing in this regard. Julia Egerer, EASA’s Aerodromes Standards & Implementation Section Manager, shed light on the European Union’s push for dual ground handling regulations. She described the collaborative process of developing these rules, which involved airlines, GHAs, member states, and trade unions. “Regulators are slow,” Egerer admitted, emphasizing EASA’s focus on the balance between performance-based regulations and high-level operational standards. It aims to merge regulatory oversight with existing industry benchmarks like IGOM to reduce costs and enhance safety. The industry needs standards such as IGOM, but also rules, she said, going on to quote Bismark to illustrate the difficulty being faced: “Making rules is like making sausages – everyone wants to eat them, but don’t want to know how the butcher made them!” Egerer highlighted the development of a broader safety management system (SMS) framework that mandates data-sharing between GHAs, airlines, and airports, ensuring a more cohesive operational ecosystem. “Airlines can outsource responsibility but not accountability,” she reiterated. With regard to audits, within the EU, she stated, work was ongoing to establish uniform inspection criteria for competent authorities, thus mitigating conflicting interpretations.
Light at the end of the runway
Inconsistent standards and frequent audits create financial and operational burdens. Yet, Glyn Hughes, Director General of TIACA, also revealed that global damage costs due to handling inefficiencies: these annually amount to USD 1.5 billion in the EU alone, and around USD 5 billion, globally.
Though the panelists acknowledged that global alignment on standards and oversight remain a distant goal, they were still optimistic about the industry’s progress toward harmonization – particularly in light of the EASA initiative. They agreed that continued dialogue, collaboration, and technological advancements are crucial to achieving a universally standardized system, and that since air cargo continues to face rising demand and heightened safety expectations, the quest for consistent ground and cargo handling standards will remain a top priority for stakeholders worldwide.
*Launched in 2008, the ISAGO program is intended as a ‘cost-effective alternative to the audits conducted by airlines, airports, and regulators of ground operations, reducing duplication and cost of oversight’, with its primary objective of improving the safety of ground operations through qualified audits that check that ground handling service providers are working according to industry ground operations standards such as IGOM, AHM, and ICAO Annex 19 Safety Management System, for example.
