Ground handling is becoming more complex and the margin for error is shrinking, IATA’s Director Ground Operations Monika Mejstrikova said at the 38th IATA Ground Handling Conference in Cairo.

She also warned that the sector is facing growing pressure from demand, infrastructure constraints, workforce challenges and geopolitical instability.

“Ground handling is not a support function. It is a critical pillar of safe and reliable aviation,” Mejstrikova said. “No aircraft moves safely without ground handling getting it right,” she added. 

Mejstrikova said ground handling had always been complex, but that complexity was now growing as the industry manages increasing demand, constrained infrastructure, workforce challenges and rising expectations for efficiency and sustainability at the same time. 

She also said this was happening against a backdrop of geopolitical instability, with airspace closures, last-minute diversions and pressure on fuel supply no longer exceptional events, but daily realities that aviation must plan around. 

Referring to Egypt, she said the country had been keeping traffic moving under highly dynamic conditions in recent months, adding that this was not easy and that its resilience deserved recognition. 

In such an environment, Mejstrikova said strong safety discipline was the only way forward. 

She said the latest IATA Ground Handling Safety Data showed that the industry was moving in the right direction, but not fast enough. 

Mejstrikova said there were no fatal ground handling accidents in 2025 and one serious injury, adding that, considering nearly 40 million flights are operated each year, this reflected professionalism and discipline. 

However, she said the record was not perfect, pointing to more than 29,000 aircraft damage events and nearly 38,000 loading errors. 

She said these figures showed there were still opportunities to improve, with the greatest potential lying in stronger implementation of global standards, modernising ground support equipment fleets and digitalisation. 

“Safety is rarely about one big breakthrough,” Mejstrikova said. 

She said that by focusing on these three areas, the industry could strengthen the fundamentals and make its performance even better. 

On global standards, Mejstrikova said the IATA Ground Operations Manual and the Airport Handling Manual were the global reference points for ground handling. 

“They are built with the industry, for the industry,” she said. 

She said collaboration with IATA members, ground handling partners and working groups was what kept the standards practical, relevant and globally aligned. 

In 2025, Mejstrikova said the IATA Operational Portal had more than 1,000 registered users, including 280 airlines and more than 700 ground handler accounts across stations and headquarters. 

She also said 582 organisations had shared their IGOM adoption rate, while more than 500 had reported alignment with AHM training requirements. 

Mejstrikova said this progress was being recognised by regulators and airports, with IGOM and AHM becoming key reference points for operational consistency. 

She said IATA was working with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency as it evaluates whether these standards can be recognised under the EU’s new ground handling regulations. 

“If successful, that would be a major step toward greater harmonization,” she said. 

Mejstrikova added that the momentum extended beyond Europe, with work under way at the International Civil Aviation Organization to strengthen the global regulatory framework for ground handling, with IATA actively contributing to that effort. 

However, she said standards only created value when applied consistently. 

Mejstrikova said more than 40 per cent of organisations that shared their gap analysis with IGOM had no variations, but added that this still left significant room for improvement. 

In 2025, she said an average of 32 variations were declared per report, representing 8 per cent of total IGOM procedures. 

She said these variations were mainly related to aircraft arrival procedures, including challenges around chocks and cones. 

Mejstrikova said transparency was progress, because the industry now had a clearer picture of where differences existed, and that this data was already shaping updates to the next IGOM editions. 

She also said that, through dialogue with airlines and ground handling service providers, IATA found that 60 per cent of declared variations reflected wording differences rather than substantive operational deviations. 

Moreover, she said most variations exceeded the IGOM baseline procedures and reflected stronger local procedures. 

“Some variation will always be necessary to reflect local realities,” Mejstrikova said. 

“But any variation should be justified, transparent, and kept to a minimum,” she added. 

On training, Mejstrikova said greater adoption of AHM as a global training standard could reduce duplication, improve recognition of skills, support workforce mobility and unlock $83.5 million in annual savings. 

She said the challenge was to apply those standards consistently in practice, adding that the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations played a critical role. 

In 2025, she said nearly 300 audits were conducted under IATA’s revamped ISAGO model, which includes remote documentation reviews, enhanced checklists aligned with industry standards and a stronger focus on what is actually happening on the ramp, in the warehouse and at the gate. 

Mejstrikova said ISAGO now supports more than 230 ground handling service providers operating across 441 accredited stations at more than 250 airports globally, while more than 200 airlines rely on its audit reports. 

She said the programme was helping the industry execute global standards consistently every day and at every station. 

According to Mejstrikova, this means stronger governance, better training and greater operational discipline. 

“When standards, training and execution come together, ground operations become safer, simpler, and stronger,” she said. 

Turning to ground support equipment, Mejstrikova said aircraft ground damage remained one of the most persistent operational and financial risks in ground handling. 

She said the cost of fixing damaged equipment was significant and warned that unless the industry reduced the rate of ground damage incidents, costs would multiply as the sector grows. 

Mejstrikova said technology could help, with anti-collision systems and positioning technology significantly reducing risk. 

However, she said ground support equipment was expensive and had a long replacement cycle, which is why IATA launched the Enhanced GSE Recognition Programme in 2024 to encourage smarter, risk-based investment. 

Since the programme was launched, she said IATA had received more than 450 applications, validated 187 stations and recognised 75 stations for reducing operational risk. 

Mejstrikova said adoption of enhanced GSE was not only a safety gain, but also a smarter way to manage operational risk. 

She said modernisation was not only about making equipment safer, but also about making it cleaner. 

According to Mejstrikova, the biggest gains in decarbonising aviation will come from how aircraft are powered, particularly through sustainable aviation fuel. 

However, she said opportunities on the ground should not be ignored, as much of a turnaround still depends on diesel-powered equipment. 

Replacing diesel-powered equipment with electric GSE, she said, reduces fuel burn, cuts local emissions at the stand and can lower turnaround emissions by 35 per cent to 52 per cent, depending on the equipment mix and electricity source. 

Mejstrikova said the steady progress of autonomous and semi-autonomous GSE was reinforcing the need for electric platforms and standardised operating environments, accelerating both efficiency and sustainability on the ramp. 

She said IATA had recently published practical guidance for airports and ground handlers moving from fuel-powered to electric fleets. 

Mejstrikova said some operators were already showing what was possible, referring to Swissport International in Geneva, where a full turnaround of a Brussels Airlines aircraft was completed using only electric ground support equipment from arrival to departure. 

She said the future could bring even more dramatic change in how GSE is powered, with hydrogen being evaluated for higher-power equipment such as pushback tractors and ground power units. 

“Whether the goal is safety or sustainability, modernizing GSE is becoming a business imperative,” Mejstrikova said. 

On digitalisation, Mejstrikova said it was key to efficiency across industry functions, including ground handling. 

She said a particular challenge was the fragmentation of data, with too many ground handling processes still relying on disconnected systems, manual inputs and delayed information. 

Mejstrikova said that when visibility is poor, bags are misplaced, aircraft are loaded incorrectly and risks are identified too late. 

She said digitalisation changed that by giving operators better visibility and enabling faster, better decisions. 

Starting with baggage, Mejstrikova said this was where passengers felt operational failure most directly. 

She said that when passengers check a bag, they expect it to arrive with them, and if it does not, they expect to know where it is. 

According to Mejstrikova, IATA’s latest polling showed that 81 per cent of passengers want better baggage tracking, while 88 per cent expect real-time updates on their mobile devices. 

She said the efficiency gains from meeting this passenger expectation had motivated IATA’s 10-year Global Baggage Roadmap. 

The roadmap, she said, aims to improve baggage operations through better data sharing and modern messaging, stronger tracking capabilities and greater automation. 

Mejstrikova said a key part of this was modernising how baggage information is exchanged, as baggage messaging remains fragmented and often relies on outdated systems that limit visibility across the journey. 

She said the IATA Baggage Community System, which is part of the roadmap, would address this by connecting airlines, airports and ground handlers on a single platform with real-time information sharing. 

She said the goal was fewer mishandled bags, lower costs, better tracking and a better experience for passengers when things go wrong. 

Mejstrikova said a testing environment was already live, with the first release planned for later this year. 

She said IATA was also continuing to pursue the adoption of technologies such as RFID, GPS, Bluetooth Low Energy and electronic bag tags, bringing the industry closer to end-to-end baggage visibility. 

However, Mejstrikova said digitalisation was not only about improving the passenger experience, but also about making operations safer. 

On aircraft loading, she said the X565 data standard was modernising how weight and balance information is shared, moving away from manual processes and toward faster, more accurate digital workflows. 

She said Boeing was using X565 for the Boeing 737, while Airbus had made significant progress across the A320, A330 and A350 families, including future cargo variants. 

Mejstrikova said members using digital load control and reconciliation systems were reporting reductions in loading errors of more than 90 per cent, along with fewer delays. 

She said similar progress was being seen in winter operations, where the De-Icing Anti-Icing Quality Control Pool was giving airlines better visibility into operational risks across de-icing stations. 

This, she said, was being supported by stronger data sharing and a new industry dashboard that helps identify hazards earlier and strengthen safety oversight. 

Mejstrikova said the model was expanding, with the first major US operator joining this winter season and growing engagement with China to better align global standards. 

Whether the issue is baggage, aircraft loading, de-icing or safety reporting, Mejstrikova said the goal was the same: better visibility, fewer errors and faster decisions. 

Concluding her remarks, Mejstrikova said ground handling was often invisible to passengers, but that everyone notices when it goes wrong. 

She said a delayed bag, a damaged aircraft, a loading error or a disrupted turnaround may last only minutes, but their consequences can ripple across an entire network. 

That, she said, is why IATA is focusing on stronger standards, smarter equipment and better data. 

“If we get the fundamentals right, we build ground operations that are not only safer—but smarter, more efficient, more sustainable, and truly resilient,” Mejstrikova said.