South Europe Ground Services has intensified its operations by reinforcing more than 30 professionals and has tripled the usual allocation of means and resources in order to provide ground handling services for flights associated with the Pope's visit to Spain, as well as for the increase in traffic derived from this event.
As the company detailed in a statement, it will be responsible for the scheduled stops in Madrid, Barcelona, Las Palmas, and Tenerife Norte, four airports integrated into a network that reaches 38 work centers.
Within the framework of this special operation, South will coordinate ramp teams, supervision, passenger attention, operational safety, and logistical support for specific requests, after preparation that has involved "weeks of work" in collaboration with airlines, Aena, and the State Security Forces and Corps.
"Our objective is that each stop develops with the highest standards of safety, punctuality, and quality of service, and, in addition, that they comply with the protocol and security requirements demanded in these operations," highlighted the Operations Director of South, Alex Casadesus.
At the Madrid and Barcelona airports, South will assign double the staff and aircraft handling equipment to cover the official delegation, authorities, and media accompanying the Pope on his travels.
In the case of the Canary Islands, the operation will have particularly unique characteristics, indicated the IAG subsidiary, emphasizing that the Pontiff's plane will be located in a military area of the Las Palmas airport, which "requires additional coordination for the transfer of equipment and resources to the chosen parking position."
At Tenerife Norte, where the farewell of the delegation from Spain is also planned, the operation will have, on the part of South, a significant allocation of resources to attend to the presence of other institutional delegations to which it must also provide service.
At both stops, South participates in prior simulations with the objective of adapting to the specific demands and requirements of this type of operation.