Kuwait, 25 January 2015 - National Aviation Services (NAS), the fastest growing ground handling company in the emerging markets and a subsidiary of Agility, has reached a new milestone in its expansion with its first contract award in West Africa. With the new contract, NAS has now expanded its operational network to 16 stations in nine countries.

Under the ten year contract, NAS will provide ground handling services at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny International Airport in Abidjan as a part of a public private partnership with the Government of Cote d'Ivoire. NAS was awarded the contract based on their proven track record and the solutions proposed to turn the airport back to a regional hub as it was in the past.

The ground handling contract includes passenger services, ramp handling, cargo management and warehousing as well as other related airport services.

The official signing ceremony took place in Abidjan last week with Cote d'Ivoire representatives, Gaoussou Toure, Minister of Transport, Abdourahmane Cisse, Minister of Budget, Nialé Kaba, Minister of Economy and Finance and Hassan El Houry, CEO, National Aviation Services.

Following the signing El Houry highlighted, "The Government of Cote d'Ivoire places development of its transport sector at the heart of its economic growth. As the chosen ground handling partner, we can provide them with the operational expertise, security and reliability required by the Abidjan Airport to reclaim its position as the aviation hub for West Africa."

The Abidjan airport currently handles close to 1.5 million passengers, 8,200 aircrafts and close to 20,000 tons of cargo. NAS Ivoire, led by newly appointed General Manager Olivier Berni will work through a six month transition period before taking over complete airport operations in mid-July.

About National Aviation Services (NAS)
National Aviation Services (NAS) is the fastest growing aviation services provider in emerging markets. From our initial operations in Kuwait in 2003, NAS has quickly transformed into a leading airports service provider with a presence across regions: the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. The 6,000 capable, personable employees at the core of our worldwide network are committed to providing aviation services that we benchmark to the best in the world. NAS provides services to more than half of the world's top ten airlines. These carriers rely on us to work directly with passengers and behind the scenes to deliver the services that make a difference. Our portfolio of services includes Ramp and Passenger Services, Cargo Handling, Engineering Services and Line Maintenance, Airport Technologies, Fixed Base Operations, Aviation Training Center, Travel Agency and the Pearl Assist product which includes lounges and meet and assist services across the company's network.

NAS prides itself in providing world class aviation solutions and is affiliated with leading industry organizations such as IGHC, GASA, ACI & EASA and follows practices of ISO, EMS & OHSAS. As one of the first ground handlers in the world to obtain the ISAGO certification, nothing is more illustrative of NAS' commitment to providing the leading global practices in aviation services.

Contact
Sara Al Ansari
Sa.alansari@nascorporate.com

© Press Release 2015