An aviation confrere from Air Vanuatu dubbed the essential role of ground handling as the “meat in the sandwich”. Airlines arrive and depart with airports remaining stationary, while the Ground Handling Service Providers (GHSP) exchange the “fill” of inbound passengers and cargoes with the outbound. In doing so, the small Pacific Island GHSPs—commonly the national carrier—must attain and retain the same competencies, certifications and contracts as those of the large metropolitan GHSPs.
Air Terminal Services (Tonga) Limited is a privately owned and operated GHSP with 22 years of continuous service under a concessionary agreement with the government. But it is the contracts for the handling of the international carriers into Tonga, namely Air New Zealand, Fiji Airways and Qantas that give validity to the acceptance of ATS as the ground handler by the Tonga Civil Aviation Division of the Ministry of Infrastructure. Tonga has no international carrier and its domestic carrier—Lulutai Airlines—carries out all its own ground handling. ATS sought and attained the IATA Safety Audit Ground Operations (ISAGO) Certificate in 2024 to demonstrate its international compliance and competency. In the Pacific Islands, only Fiji ATS—unrelated to ATS Tonga—has also achieved this certification.
During its 22 years of service, aircraft types have grown in capacity and ATS has had to meet that growth. Currently, there are close to 100 wide body jets per year up to B777 and A330 size. There are close to 700 narrow body jets annually. Fua’amotu International Airport is the only airport to handle large passenger jets. Smaller itinerant jets and turboprop jets such as the ATR72 service both Vava’u and Fua’amotu, with over 500 international services per year.
In the ten years from 2016 to 2026, total passenger arrivals into Tonga have exceeded 100,000 per year, but the growth has only been 5 per cent over the entire period. Increasingly, the arrivals have been of the diaspora – a growth from almost nil 60 years ago to a total of 250,000 against the 105,000 homeland residents. The homeland population has increased from 75,000 in 1965 to 105,000 in 2025… 40 per cent in 60 years. Tourist numbers have been stagnant and even reduced since the 2022 tsunami wiped out virtually all coastal resorts in Tongatapu. While ATS revenues have grown by 50 per cent over the same 10 years (2016–2026), this has been necessary to procure the same level of capability of its ground service equipment (GSE) as that of a large GHSP. Tonga has no air bridges and no push back tug, and ATS has provided stairways and hi-lift capability to handle up to B777 and A330 jets. Whereas it has been common to procure second-hand diesel GSE, this is no longer an option as the availability of diesel in a country with no carbon fuel resources nor hydro resources will be increasingly precarious and expensive.
ATS looks to move towards solar power to power all GSE, its office and hangar facilities, as well as chillers and freezers for export and import cargoes. The cost of this is beyond the current capability of ATS and if it proceeds, development funding will be needed, whether by grant or by loan. To date, ATS has self funded all its development and carries no debt.
A start has been made on electric GSE with the recent purchase of a new stairway to handle all passenger jets. Small ramp golfcarts are also electric. Their role has been to carry the many disabled to and from the aircraft to the terminal. As many as 10 per cent of passenger loads are of elderly and disabled, reflecting the mobility of those beyond their working life to connect and continue the cultural ties between homeland and diaspora. On time performance by the GHSP is often difficult when those whose mobility is impaired exceed 10 per cent.
Another demographic but at the other end of the scale is now the large numbers of youth and even middle-aged who make up the growing numbers leaving Tonga for short-term seasonal work programmes in Australia and New Zealand. While this does provide income for families back home, it is making it exceedingly difficult for local industry in Tonga to employ new entrants into the ground handling industry.
ATS has a total of 70 staff, only 35 per cent of whom have been with the company for 10 years. Fortunately, it is the long termers who make up the senior leading hands and supervisors for both front of house and back of house roles. Basic hourly wage levels for new entrants have been increased by 40 per cent over 10 years, but this does not compete with the excitement of working abroad. The need to ensure adequate human resources has been met by taking on two periods of recruitment per year and by accelerating advancement in the industry to retain competent staff.
Training costs precede fruitful returns while handling revenues are always post the event. But beyond that fiscal reality, it is the pursuit of excellence that marks the taste and the colour of the “sandwich”………………
