Programme 

Key themes include: GSE pooling, the Station of Tomorrow, AI and skills shortages

Want to be part of the programme? Contact Max Gosney

Golf Day

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GHI’s Delegate Golf Tournament

Our Delegate Golf Tournament, taking place at the 9th Americas GHI Conference in Orlando this June. The tournament on Monday 2nd June will adopt a 4-person scramble format and is open to players of all ability levels. The emphasis will be on networking and having fun alongside a healthy dose of competitive spirit! We will tee off at 0800 from the greens of the Shingle Creek Golf Couse. This course provides a stunning collection of challenging yet accommodating golf for all players, regardless of skill level or experience. The tournament will last around four and a half hours.

Full information can be found here


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Exhibitor & Private Meeting Room set-up
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Welcome Coffee
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One-to-One Meetings
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Conference Welcome
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Market Outlook: The Americas market – boom time or a bubble about to burst?

After roaring back to surpass pre-pandemic passenger levels ahead of any other global region – latest IATA figures show a slight decline in North America traffic growth. Is this a blip or the start of a downward trend that could escalate under a wave of trade tariffs? Meanwhile, Latin American markets show near 7% year-on-year growth, aided by new infrastructure and tourism returning. This session will assess the year ahead for North and Latin American markets.

Speaker
Economist
IATA
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The Big Debate: Ongoing boom or economic gloom? The outlook for the Americas and a ground handling strategy to fit

After a post-Covid resurgence, aviation leaders across the Americas are confronting a hugely uncertain future. On the one hand, Latin America displays world leading passenger demand growth, new markets opening up and a returning connectivity between key South American hubs. Yet look North and storm clouds gather. The USA saw a decline in domestic passenger demand in February with major carriers implementing a hiring freeze on cabin staff as businesses reduce non-essential travel. As President Trump’s trade tariffs send shockwaves through stock markets then is global recession inevitable or will America be great again? GHI unites key aviation stakeholders to explore the scenarios and how they shape very different ground handling strategies. How do we turn crisis into opportunity. Could unpredictability be the spur we need to push on with digital innovations, the adoption of sustainable GSE and investing in retaining our most talented team members?
 
This is a forum for putting your biggest business concerns to the panel so please email us your questions at confernences@groundhandling.com

Speakers
Director General
ASA World
Founder & CEO
Moonware
Chief Commercial Officer
AGI
CEO, NOAM
Swissport
VP & GM
Textron GSE
VP – Airport Services
Spirit Airlines
Business Development Director
Wilcox GSE
Assistant Vice President (AVP), Airport Operations
Orlando International Airport
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Lunch
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Product Demonstration: Streamline your ground operations through real time visibility!

Our Turnaround Management Platform enables you to streamline your ground operations, enhance communication between stakeholders coworking on a flight and automate post flight reporting. By integrating to all available data sources (Airport systems such as AODB or Smart Camera, Airline systems such as DCS or Type B) you are able to have access to all of the data needed to manage your operations. We are deployed in 200 airports around the world, working with airlines such as Air France, ANA or Air Transat.


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Americas aviation trailblazers: How the world’s first all-electric pooled GSE fleet is making it big in New York

Exclusive insight from the teams at TCR and JFK New Terminal One on delivering a landmark GSE pooling programme. How will airport authorities and resident ground handlers ensure +600 motorised and non-motorised units are charged and ready to go when the greenfield terminal opens? What steps have been made to optimise charging capacity, enhance safety on the apron and ensure equipment is available when and where required?

Speakers
Commercial Director
TCR
Vice President of Operations
The New Terminal One at JFK
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Skills: AI vs attrition – deploying intelligent software to outsmart 100% turnover

This case study-led discussion will explore how an operator has deployed AI powered apps and workforce management tools have claimed a 30% reduction in employee turnover in the notoriously tumultuous environment of the Americas apron. How can features like live feedback, gamification and on the job learning modules keep gen Z workers engaged? And where does traditional human leadership skills sit in an AI future?

Speakers
Operations, Leadership Development & Change Management Consultant
Desiree Perez Coaching & Consulting
Head of Business Development
Moonware
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Coffee break
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Meet the Airline Speed Networking
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Innovation: Unleashing innovation at the ground handling station – what’s the playbook?

Innovation is a hallowed phrase within aviation as the supply chain seeks to maintain world-class performance levels in the face of rising volumes and diminishing resource. GHI invites top ground handling operators from across the Americas region to demystify the term and explain the practical steps they are taking to bring innovation to the fore. Key discussion points will include does innovation come with a hefty price tag? And, do you need a dedicated team to unearth inspiration? We’ll ask our speakers to show some tangible examples of KPI enhancing innovation in the region.

Speakers
Regional Vice President
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS)
Chief Safety Officer
AGI
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AI in the Americas: Below the wing- delivering the digital dream and separating the ‘must haves’ from the hype

With digitisation, and AI in particular, dominating industry airwaves – this session will explore the essentials for business focused digital transformation for handlers, airlines, GSE service workshops, GSE manufacturers and asset financing. Below the wing, companies are increasingly digitising business activities to enhance on-time performance, reduce costs, optimise staff and equipment utilisation and benchmark performance for continuous improvement initiatives. The session will explore a 5-step model for successful digital transformation and an assessment checklist to answer the question ‘are we ready for digital transformation and AI?’.

Speaker
Director
Blackhawk
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Welcome Party
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Welcome Coffee
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One-to-One Meetings
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Chairman’s Welcome
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Americas aviation trailblazers: The Station of Tomorrow, the dnata Orlando story

Exploring how dnata is launching ground handling into the space age with a showcase Orlando operation featuring a fully electric fleet, autonomous vehicles, automated billing, AI and anti-collision sensors. The team will reveal how a commitment to install the latest quality driven new tech doesn’t have to equal higher prices, the station can deliver a lower cost per turn than an orthodox operation. The dnata team will also explain how they newest tech is combined with the best staff talent with a proactive campaign to hire the ramp leaders of tomorrow.

Speaker
Regional CEO Americas
dnata
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Coffee break
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Meet the Airline Speed Networking
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Market focus: All go in Argentina – market deregulation and the ground handling opportunities

The Argentinian government has liberalised its ground handling market causing a surge in international interest in one of the powerhouse economies of South America. With opportunities up for discussion at more than 35 airports – what is the market potential now Argentina has opened up and what are some of the entry challenges facing ground handlers looking to take advantage in the land of the puma?

Speaker
Director
Abiax Air Aviation
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Ramp Safety: Ideas and equipment innovations that can help us send our people home safely – dnata’s story

GHI invites operators to share practical ramp stories of how new GSE, equipment technology, and operational practices have reduced operational risk and prevented incidents in the ramp environment. This session will explore how dnata has leveraged wireless communication strategies to enhance situational awareness, connecting the tow team and flight crew as a unified apparatus to minimise risk. The case study will demonstrate how the team transformed the solution into an advantage against an airport environment that continues to experience significant growth, where the margin of error can be as little as 25 feet.

Speakers
Senior Vice President of Safety and Training
dnata
Chief Executive Officer
dBD Communications
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Ramp Safety: Ideas and equipment innovations that save lives – blind spots, wing walkers and new ways of working, a PrimeFlight case study

Join us for the second of our sessions inviting operators to share practical ramp stories of how new GSE, equipment technology, and operational practices have reduced risk and prevented incidents in the ramp environment. PrimeFlight will discuss how it has reimagined its communication strategy after reviewing network incidents involving tow and pushback teams with inexperienced ramp team members. The case study will explore how communications systems are being integrated into new employee training during pushback to boost situational awareness, increase knowledge, and how change management techniques are implemented to address resistant employees into adopting new tech with some innovative adjustments to equipment.

Speakers
Chief Executive Officer
dBD Communications
VP, Safety & Training
Primeflight Aviation Services
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Lunch
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Product Demonstration: New Generation FiNDnet

Join us at Damarel as we showcase the latest generation of the FiNDnet Suite—an enterprise-level turnaround management, service capture, and billing solution. Whether you're a small operation or a global ground handler, FiNDnet offers a class-leading solution used worldwide to seamlessly coordinate, monitor, and enhance all aspects of airport operations. It comprehensively addresses your operational and business processes and leverages automation to drive cost reduction, performance enhancement, and revenue growth.

Join us to see how the latest version features a complete mobility solution for SLA monitoring and event timings, ensuring that FiNDnet empowers you to deliver unparalleled service.



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Product Demonstration: Powering Smarter GSE Management with EBIS

Discover how EBIS simplifies Ground Support Equipment (GSE) management in this 15-minute live demo. We’ll walk you through key features including asset tracking, preventative maintenance scheduling, work order management, and reporting—all in one intuitive platform. EBIS is designed to help operations teams reduce downtime, improve compliance, and extend equipment life with real-time visibility into your fleet. Whether you're managing tugs, belt loaders, or GPUs, EBIS brings clarity and control to your GSE maintenance operations. Visit us at Booth E24 to see how EBIS can streamline your workflows and support data-driven decision-making.


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Women of GSE Networking Event
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Sustainability: Supercharging GSE fleet electrification in an infrastructure constrained environment

While aviation leaders are pledging a net zero operation by 2050, the reality on the ground is a shortfall in charging points, GSE parking space and disjointed investment plans among airports, airlines and GSPs. This panel will invite stakeholders to outline their sustainable fleet strategies and the steps to building a more coherent path to a low carbon future. A special focus of this panel will be bridging technologies like battery-as-a-service, power share as well as a look at sustainable fuel alternatives to Li-power like hydrogen and bio-fuels.

Speakers
VP & GM
Textron GSE
Executive Director
IAEMA
Vice President Fleet, North America
Swissport
Product & Customer Success Director
Adveez
Senior Sales Manager, New Technology Products
Oshkosh AeroTech
Chief Operating Officer
TLD
VP of Sales
Advanced Charging Technologies (ACT)
President
Averest
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GSE: Turning information into fleet optimisation – how to save cost and boost performance

GSE operators are being asked to do more with less, making operational efficiency and strategic decision-making more critical than ever. But without standardized data and real-time visibility, making informed decisions is a challenge. In this case study led session, we’ll explore how an airline/handler is using data standardization and system integrations to improve maintenance, fleet strategy, technician productivity, and help GSE operations move from reactive to proactive decision-making.

Speakers
General Manager
EBIS Software
VP GSE
dnata
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Coffee break
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Meet the Ground Handler Speed Networking
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PRM: Bridging aviation’s accessibility divide and winning new business through your PRM approach

Passengers with reduced mobility are one of the fastest growing passenger groups within aviation and more than one in five travellers set to be classed as a PRM by 2050. This PRM passenger segment will double in value to over $1 billion by 2033. This session looks at how airports, airlines and GSPs go from a reactive and resource-intensive approach to PRM passengers to shaping a strategy that is proactive, data-driven and profitable.

Speakers
Director of Airport Solutions
Ozion Airport Software
PRM Solutions Manager
Inform
Senior Manager, Strategic Sourcing
American Airlines
Principal
BH Accessibility Consulting
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Delegate Dinner

‘Learn through doing’

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Welcome Coffee
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One-to-One Meetings
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Strategy: Crisis planning – are you ready for the next earthquake, cyclone or pandemic?

When it comes to acts of God like pandemics, floods or hurricanes then there’s nothing we can do, right? Wrong, it is within your power to prepare for large scale disruptions to operations, this workshop session will show. And being proactive with your emergency planning mitigates commercial loss and maximises profitability during the recovery, participants will hear. Attend to discover how environmental events that seem to be more frequent, another pandemic, or other major events can be brought within your grasp.

Speaker
CEO
Loadsters
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Leadership: The art of successful leadership in the digital aviation age

This interactive workshop will ask what human skills will remain influential in motivating and inspiring aviation employees in the age of digital transformation. Attendees will learn how to blend technology with more traditional leadership tools to ensure you are optimising your workforce’s performance.

Speaker
Operations, Leadership Development & Change Management Consultant
Desiree Perez Coaching & Consulting
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Coffee break
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Skills Shortages: Becoming an employer brand of choice to attract and retain talent

Nearly 90% of employees say they will not work, or continue to work for, a company with a poor reputation. So, with the entire ground handling industry feeling the weight of a negative employer image, how can you stand out to find and keep talent? This hands-on workshop will provide proven, business-boosting recruitment marketing and employer branding tactics to attract job seekers and promote your unique culture. It will also help you match prospective candidates to key attributes for ramp and check-in-based roles through compelling external messaging.

Speaker
Chief Strategy Officer
AMPED Strategic Marketing
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Safety/Just culture: The safety benefits of making it okay to admit an honest mistake

This workshop session will explore the importance of just culture in defining a line between a genuine mistake and gross negligence. How do you create a culture of openness amid the high-pressure environment of the apron? And what safety lessons are ground handlers losing out on by adopting a zero-tolerance approach to operatives who inadvertently damage GSE/aircraft or themselves during pushback and turnaround.

Speakers
Lead ISAGO Auditor & Operations Manager
GAC Aviation Services & Consulting
President
GAC Aviation Services & Consulting
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Farewell lunch