Airport ground services provider Swissport International has inked a contract with Chile’s SKY Airline that will see the Zurich-based company manage ground handling activities for the carrier at 15 Chilean airports, including Santiago (SCL).

The contract, which also includes cargo handling, took effect April 1. “The portfolio includes serving passengers at check-in and gates, handling aircraft on the ramp, managing lost and found, and loading and unloading cargo,” Swissport says.

The five-year contract raises the number of flights Swissport will handle in Chile from 19,000 annually to 54,000 annually, according to the company. Swissport says it is “the new market leader in ground handling services in Chile.”

Swissport already has 800 employees based in Chile. As of April 1, it provides ground handling services at 15 Chilean airports, up from seven before the SKY contract. The value of the Swissport-SKY contract was not disclosed. 

Swissport has a growing presence in South America. In addition to Chile, it operates ground handling services at nine airports in Argentina, 16 in Brazil, four in Ecuador, eight in Peru and two in Uruguay.

SKY recently revealed it will launch 4X-weekly service between Lima (LIM) and Sao Paulo Guarulhos (GRU) from July 3, marking its first service between Peru and Brazil. SKY offers daily service between Santiago and both GRU and Rio de Janeiro Galeao (GIG).