A few months before the summer peak, there is bickering at the Montreal-Trudeau airport, where uncertainty awaits several hundred runway employees. Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) is criticized by airlines, unions and subcontracting companies for its management of the file. A chaotic transition for travelers is feared.
The dispute concerns a request for proposals for outsourced services – baggage handling, ramp agents and aircraft towing. These are essential elements for the fluidity of airport traffic. Two new players, Menzies Aviation and Samsic Assistance, have won licenses, while two other well-established companies, Swissport and ATS, have been pushed aside. TSAS remains in the picture.
Six airlines – including Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines – which had business ties with Swissport Canada, are having trouble digesting the change. They expressed the substance of their thoughts to the Chairman and CEO of ADM Philippe Rainville, in a letter written on Wednesday that The Press was able to consult.
The process started several years ago and some of us were not in Montreal. At the time of the relaunch, we were not consulted and included. We believe this is an injustice and will negatively impact our business.
Excerpt from the letter from the airlines
These companies – and several others – will have to agree with a new subcontractor. They worry about the recruitment challenges that await Menzies and Samsic. This could “result in security issues”, they plead.
Based in France, Samsic is responsible for services to passengers with reduced mobility at Montreal-Trudeau, according to its website. Menzies specializes in cargo. Established in Montréal-Trudeau for more than three decades, Swissport Canada is shaken. In “the most difficult memo” he has had to write, the president and CEO, Charles Roberge, stresses that layoffs (about 195) will be inevitable.
“For reasons that remain unclear, ADM did not retain Swissport, he wrote, in the missive obtained by The Press. However, we know that two of the three companies chosen have never done business with [Montréal-Trudeau] nor in Quebec. »
On the phone, Mr. Roberge did not want to comment on the case. Swissport will continue to work in the refueling, cargo and airport lounge niches.
Quick change
According to a letter sent by ADM and dated February 7, the changes will be in effect on the 1er april. Written by Vice-President, Air Operations and Development Stéphane Lapierre, the message warns that we must anticipate a “transition period” in the service offer.
The manager and operator of Montreal-Trudeau says that the parameters of the call for proposals were determined by an “independent committee of industry representatives”, which also evaluated the offers. Aspects of safety, operational performance and financial issues were assessed. Wednesday, ADM had not specified the identity of the members of the committee.
In an email, Eric Forest, spokesperson for the nonprofit, says the call for proposals was set up in 2019 and relaunched last August after the pandemic hiatus. He affirms that ADM “was not involved in the choice”, which emanates from the “independent committee accompanied by the International Air Transport Association (IATA)”.
“ADM will actively collaborate with carriers and handlers to ensure an efficient and harmonious transition, in particular by organizing weekly meetings,” indicated Mr. Forest, without offering further details.
Carriers often do business with subcontractors, which are usually represented by unions like the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) as well as Unifor, which have strongly denounced the upcoming changes. Up to 600 people could be affected, they argue.
Exodus expected?
Layoffs are expected at Swissport and ATS. There is no guarantee that these people can keep the same salaries and other conditions – recognition of seniority and benefits – if they go to work at Menzies Aviation or Samsic Assistance, says the Quebec coordinator of the IAMAW, Michel Richer.
“We have members who have been with Swissport for 20 years,” he says. Will they want to change employers and do the same job while losing benefits like seniority? Will Menzies and Samsic find staff in time? »
ATS, which expects to lay off some 300 employees, anticipates the same. Its spokesperson, Sarah Andrews, also points out that change is fast for airlines.
“They don’t have a lot of time to adapt,” she explains. Their options are limited. Normally, transitions after a call for proposals are much longer.
Aviation expert and McGill University lecturer John Gradek also questions the timing of the transition. In his opinion, we could have waited until the fall, since the summer promises to be particularly busy in the airline industry.
Learn more
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- October 28
- Date on which the license of dismissed subcontractors could be extended, if necessary
source: montreal airports