Menzies has officially been evicted from HKIA: Menzies Aviation, subsidiary of Kuwait-based Agility, has lost its appeal to resume ground handling services at Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA), in the Namibian High Court, Simple Flying reports. The court has dismissed the case with costs, meaning Menzies is also required to pay litigation costs to Namibia Airports Company (NAC), which owns the airport, Windhoek Observer reports.

The verdict: The Namibian High Court ruled that Menzies lacked any rights to demand continuation of its ground handling services, or any entitlement to occupy the premises owned by Namibia Airports Company (NAC), Ch-Aviation reports.

What happened? Menzies, which had been operating as a ground handler at the Namibian airport for nearly a decade, was evicted from the airport on 19 August, Simple Flying reports. Its five-year contract, initially signed in 2014 and renewed multiple times since then, was handed to competitor Paragon Aviation Services, after NAC dismissed Menzies’ bid on the basis of “non-compliance” with certain tender conditions, according to its filings to the Namibian High Court in June 2022, and the Supreme Court in June 2023 (pdf). Menzies then launched an appeal in the High Court to regain access to the airport and resume operations, Simple Flying quotes Menzies CEO Philipp Joeinig as saying.

Far from a smooth transition for Paragon: Windhoek-based Paragon took over Menzies ground handling services with effect from 19 August, according to a NAC statement. Airlink and Qatar Airways temporarily suspended cargo operations amid concerns over Paragon's lack of a European Union required cargo security manager validation, Simple Flying reports. However, Airlink resumed cargo operations shortly following the suspension.

What now? As of last week, Menzies had yet to release its cargo from its Namibia airport warehouse. Despite “several engagements,” the cargo, held since 18 August, remains unreleased to its owners, causing concern among freight forwarders and clients, NAC spokesperson said at the time.

The company has an aggressive expansion strategy to increase its current 250 locations to 300 by the end of 2024 or early 2025, with a long term vision of expanding to 450 locations. Just this week, it renewed ground and air cargo handling services with Kuwait’s low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways. It also established a ground services company in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport back in May, and acquired a majority stake in Cargo Handling Services at Bulgaria’s Sofia International Airport, to implement their brand, standards, and systems across the Airport.

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