Swissport gains full ownership of Korean JV

Swissport International has become the full owner of its South Korea joint venture as part of its growth strategy in Asia.

The handler has increased its shareholding in Swissport Korea from 59% to 100% “underlining its confidence in the Korean aviation market”.

Since entering the market in 2005 with local partners, Swissport Korea has tripled its revenue, expanded its offering, and steadily expanded its customer base, the company said.

“We thank our joint venture partners for many successful years,” said Brad Moore, managing director for Asia-Pacific at Swissport.

“We commenced in Korea with a team of 250 and two airline customers. Prior to Covid-19, the business had 1,200 employees serving well-known brands including Emirates, FedEx, Air Canada, AeroMexico, Air France-KLM Cargo, Air New Zealand, Hawaiian Airlines, VietJet and many more.

“With the acquisition complete, we will turn to further strengthening our local management team to continue to deliver exceptional service to our partners. We want to leverage the significant growth opportunities in Korea and throughout Asia and are delighted that our founding partner J.W. Kim will continue to maintain strong ties with Swissport Korea.”

In 2019, Swissport Korea opened the country’s first “regulated” cargo terminal at Incheon International Airport, serving forwarding agents and airlines off airport.