Ground Handling Agents ?

[need2land]

Can anyone shed any light on what the exact duties are of a 'ground handling agent' ? Is 'ground handling agents' a generic term for baggage handlers ?

Thanks

Need2Land

[Uncle Cracker]

A ground handling agent does everything needed to turn an aircraft round, from it pulling up on stand to the towbar being disconnected after pushback. An agent normally meets the aircraft, coordinates ground services such as catering, fueling and toilet servicing, gets the pax/freight to and from it, provides documentation such as loadsheets, gen decs (customs) and pax name lists, and liaises with the crew throughout, covering specific requests and requirements where possible. Check in, freight acceptance and passenger welfare are also looked after by the handling agent.
As with anything though, some are better than others....

See, JB, I was listening.

[HZ123]

Depending on the company a Ground Handling agent in my experience deals with passengers the previous described role is more of a Ramp Handling Agent.

[acmi48]

ground handling agent

nowadays for freight operations we have both a ramp handling agent and in most cases a cargo/warehouse handling agent or both
the standard SGHA is a night mare,alone for a tech stop had 48 functions to be performed.
websites at airports a good source of information or janes world handling agents directory

[Confirmed Must Ride]

A very good place to start is IGHC of IATA, try the IATA website.

[need2land]

Thanks for the replies.

Need2Land

[surely not]

An SGHA is a Standard Ground Handling Agreement and covers all aspects of handling an aircraft on the ground including passengers, baggage, cargo, security, cleaning, etc. There are 14 sections to the agreement and the airlines can pick and choose which sections they want included and which they either want to do themselves or contract with someone else.

HZ123 A ramp agent covers baggage, a passenger agent covers passengers but they both work for a ground handling company.