Swissport to Acquire Majority Stake in Colombia's GHI, Entering South America's Second-Largest Aviation Market

Swissport International has signed a binding agreement to acquire a majority stake in Giraldo Hermanos International SAS (GHI), the company's first entry into Colombia. GHI is a Colombian ground-handling company with operations in Bogotá and Medellín, licensed to provide ground handling at all major airports in the country. The transaction's closing remains subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

Founded in Bogotá in 2013 and based at El Dorado International Airport, GHI is part of Grupo GIRAG Panamá, an organisation with more than four decades of experience in airport services. GHI holds IATA ISAGO certification and serves customers including Copa Airlines, Air Europa, Turpial Airlines, Solar Cargo and FedEx, offering passenger and air cargo handling, assistance for passengers with reduced mobility, and equipment rental.

The deal expands Swissport's Latin American network, where the company currently operates at 85 airports across 15 countries. Colombia is South America's second-largest domestic aviation market after Brazil, with 57.5 million passengers travelling through its airports in 2025. IATA identified the Bogotá–Medellín corridor as the busiest airport pair in Latin America in 2025, with 3.5 million passengers, and Colombia ranks as the region's second-largest international air freight market, with trade between Colombia and the United States representing the region's largest international freight relationship.

Warwick Brady, President and CEO of Swissport International, described Colombia as a strategically important, high-growth market and said the partnership with GHI would strengthen Swissport's ability to support airline customers across the region. Francisco Giraldo, CEO of GHI, said Swissport's global footprint and industry expertise would contribute to Colombia's aviation services sector.

This deal fits a broader move by global ground handlers to enter new markets by buying an already-licensed local operator rather than applying for airport authorisations one at a time. GHI's existing licences across Colombia's major airports and its IATA ISAGO certification give Swissport immediate operating rights and an established customer base spanning passenger carriers and cargo operators, cutting the time it would otherwise take to stand up handling capacity in a new country.

Ground handling in high-growth markets tends to consolidate around operators that already hold the airport-side approvals, since regulatory clearance and slot access are harder to replicate than capital. Colombia's position as the region's second-largest domestic market and its role in the busiest Latin American airport pair make it a market where an incumbent with local licences is more valuable to a global network than a new entrant building from zero.

What happens next depends on the regulatory approvals still required to close the transaction, and on whether Swissport folds GHI's Bogotá and Medellín operations into its broader network under its own brand or keeps GHI operating under its existing name and customer relationships with carriers such as Copa Airlines and FedEx.