According to the statement, the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, unveiled a government diploma that establishes the exclusive extension of ground handling licenses at the airports of Porto, Lisbon and Faro until April 2025.
A note published on the president’s website said that “a government diploma has been made public, establishing an exclusive extension of the existing ground handling licenses issued at the airports of Lisbon, Porto and Faro until April 2025.”
According to the statement, the government approved a decree-law at the Council of Ministers (CoM) in September that extends the validity of stopover licenses issued at the airports of Lisbon, Porto and Faro to avoid “interruptions in the provision of services.”
A note issued after the CM meeting said that “a decree-law was approved establishing the exclusive renewal of existing ground handling licenses issued at Lisbon, Porto and Faro airports to current service providers, ensuring that there is no interruption in the provision of services.” services.”
We are talking about licenses for operators who provide transit services at airports, such as catering, cargo handling, fuel supply and others.
Licenses have multiple expiration dates that expire at different times, and expiration prior to tender may result in service interruption.
These service providers include Groundforce, whose insolvency plan has been approved by creditors but is not yet finalized and whose license expires in 2024, according to the company’s website.
Maintaining the license is a condition of Menzies’ investment in Groundforce and approval of the bankruptcy plan.