Joint Sky Services to Take Over Vienna Airport Ground Handling License Oct. 25, Retaining AAS Workers
Why It MattersThe transition highlights how incoming ground handlers at major airports increasingly structure staff-retention deals to preserve airline customer relationships and avoid labor disruption during license changeovers.
Employees affected by the upcoming change in ground handling providers at Vienna Airport are expected to keep their jobs under an agreement between Airline Assistance Switzerland (AAS) and incoming license holder Joint Sky Services (JSS). JSS will assume Vienna Airport's second ground handling license on Oct. 25, replacing AAS, whose current license expires Oct. 24. AAS will remain at the airport as the exclusive passenger-handling contractor for JSS, with passenger-services employees staying under their existing agreements while ramp employees transfer directly to JSS with existing rights and seniority.
JSS said it expects to take on all of AAS's current airline customers, approximately two dozen carriers, and that the agreement is designed to ensure a smooth transition of ramp handling operations. The deal provides clarity for AAS staff following weeks of uncertainty; in August, AAS registered all 361 of its employees with Austria's AMS early-warning system as a precaution amid questions over how many positions would transfer. JSS had said it planned to retain affected AAS employees if the airline customers they served also moved to JSS. The JSS license runs from Oct. 25, 2026, through Oct. 22, 2033, and covers baggage handling, cargo and mail handling, and ramp services.
