Menzies Aviation and Agunsa form partnership in Chile

Menzies Aviation has announced the acquisition of a controlling stake in Agunsa Aviation Services, which provides full ground and air cargo handling services in Santiago, Chile.

Agunsa Aviation Services was a wholly owned subsidiary of Agencias Universales SA, a large and diverse Chilean business with a long history in logistics, originally in shipping logistics, and in more recent years in aviation.

Agunsa provides full ground handling and air cargo handling services to several major international airlines at Santiago de Chile Airport (SCL), including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Qatar Airways.

It also operates a 110,000 square foot on-airport cargo warehouse, with the unique ability at SCL to handle a combination of import cargo, export cargo and courier products.

This new Chilean business will complement Menzies’ existing operations in five other countries in Central and South America including Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Philipp Joeinig, CEO, Menzies Aviation, said: “I am excited to enter our sixth country in Latin America and strengthen relationships with some of our largest global airline partners. We have found a unique partner in Agencias Universales SA, which has a long and successful history as a leader in logistics in the region and we are looking forward to expanding our business and footprint with our new partner.”

Fernando Rodriguez, CEO, Agencias Universales SA said: “We are very pleased to enter this new partnership with Menzies Aviation and work with their team to build a market leading business across Chile and beyond. This deal will help accelerate the growth ambitions of both businesses.”