Menzies Aviation has moved into passenger services at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, becoming a full-suite ground handler less than two years after winning its licence, as the airport’s traffic reached 63.3 million passengers in 2025.
Menzies Aviation has moved into passenger services at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL), making it a full-suite ground handler less than two years after it won its Malaysian ground handling licence, as the airport’s traffic reached 63.3 million passengers in 2025.
The expansion adds above-the-wing passenger handling to the ramp operation Menzies launched in January 2025, following the ground handling licence it was awarded in November 2024. The company says it built the new passenger services team by selecting and upskilling staff from its existing ramp operation, rather than hiring externally.
In August 2026, that cross-trained team handled both passenger and ramp services for a proving flight operated by Ascend Airways, a test required to support the airline’s application for a Passenger/Commercial Air Operator Certificate. Menzies, in its announcement, describes the flight as a live demonstration of its ability to run passenger handling in a complex operating environment.
KUL handled 63.3 million passengers in 2025, up from 57 million the year before, which moved the airport to 20th busiest in the world from 26th. The growth tracks a broader rebound across the region: ACI World reported a record 9.8 billion passengers carried globally in 2025, with Southeast Asian hubs among the fastest-growing.
The move puts Menzies in direct competition with rivals already building out ground handling networks in the region, including Swissport’s recent entry into Indonesia through a joint venture with UNEX. For handlers, a full-suite licence at a top-20 airport is a scarce asset in a Southeast Asian market still consolidating around a small number of global operators.
Menzies says 58% of its GSE fleet at KUL now runs on electricity, supplemented by B20 biodiesel for the remainder. The electrification push sits alongside wider GSE trends covered on this site, including Textron’s TUG MX4 electric tractor, which tows loads up to 20,000lbs without emissions, while biodiesel supply costs remain a live policy question: the UK recently rejected a proposed £266.68-per-tonne duty on US HVO biodiesel imports, keeping input costs down for operators making the same switch.
Darren Masters, EVP Oceania and Southeast Asia at Menzies Aviation, said: “In less than two years we’ve established a strong operational foundation at KUL by successfully launching ramp services and evolving into a full-suite ground handling provider at one of Southeast Asia’s most important aviation hubs. Combining local capability with Menzies’ global standards and experience means we can offer airline customers at KUL high-quality, integrated ground handling solutions from arrival to departure.”
For airlines at KUL, the practical change is a single provider now able to cover ramp and passenger services under one contract, rather than splitting the work between handlers. For rivals watching Southeast Asia, the signal is pace: Menzies went from licence to full-suite handler in under two years, on an airport that has climbed six places in the global traffic rankings in a single year, which suggests more contract activity at KUL is coming rather than finished.
Image: menziesaviation.com
