In a press conference on Monday, the company announced it has invested €2.5 million in equipment at Faro to cement its services there, and said it will be serving airlines including TAP, British Airways, Iberia, BA City Flyer, Vueling, Aer Lingus, Small Planet and Aigle Azur.
Its services include baggage handling and passenger assistance and, the company said, it hopes it will soon be upping its staff at Faro from 115 people to 140.
In a statement issued last year, Groundforce said after “a deep process of restructuring and development, triggered by the arrival of the management team led by Alfredo Casimiro in 2012”, it had “returned to positive results due to the commitment and dedication of all employees.”
Portugal’s largest handling company, Groundforce suddenly terminated its operations in Faro in 2010 after collectively firing 300-plus employees at the airport, reportedly by email, in a sacrificial bid to reduce the company’s losses and save thousands of other jobs.
“The suspending of Groundforce’s operations at Faro Airport intends to reduce the company’s losses, a condition that is indispensible in making its future, and the remaining 2,000 jobs, viable”, it said in a statement at the time.
The firm was believed to be in the red by some €20 million.