Lufthansa Consulting, a leading aviation and management consulting company, has won a contract from the Iraqi government to evaluate the ground handling requirements at the country's major airports.

Iraqi Minister of Transport Hadi Al-Amiri said that, as per the deal, Lufthansa Consulting will optimize ground handling services at Baghdad, the capital’s main airport and the country's main international gateway besides Basra and Mosul.

According to Al Amiri, Iraq’s aviation system was going through a reconstruction phase, and the situation at the airports was also returning to normalcy.

“Regular air services are slowly being resumed, and plans are underway to renovate and expand the airports,” he added.

“The ground handling operations are being enhanced at these airports in preparation for an increase in traffic flow and the airlines’ requirements – ranging from aircraft handling to the processing of passengers and their baggage,” he noted.

In the first phase, Lufthansa is developing an action plan for the project, while in the next phase it will be responsible for managing tender procedure and tendering the ground handling licenses for these airports to international firms.

“The overall project aim is to ensure the airports’ operational readiness by 2012 at the latest, so they can offer best in class services and competitive pricing schemes to attract new clients in the future,” said Al Amiri.