The Olympic Airways Group was acquired by the Athens based Marfin Investment Group. Savas Aslanidis, who recently took over as Cargo Operations Director of Olympic Handling, previously held a similar position at Goldair Handling. The top priorities during the next 12 months are clear in his mind.

'We need to recruit and train the right staff, carry out major repairs and maintenance of the cargo terminal building and equipment, assure the smooth running of daily operations, focus on the existing client base and obtain new business by connecting regional airports by road freight service with Athens and Thessaloniki. I am responsible for cargo operations of all Olympic Handling Customs including Olympic Airways which operates wide domestic and international flight networks.

Aslanidis

"I also have the commercial responsibility for all carriers and forwarder customers. The company handles around 38,000 tonnes annually of cargo and mail ' import and export ' for Olympic Airlines and other Customs. This represents some 30% of the Airport's annual tonnage. The Athens Cargo Terminal employs some 150 staff. We also operate cargo stations in Thessaloniki, Heraklion and Kastoria. We also provide road and GSA services.'

In the highly competitive Greek handling market, a change of culture and reputation will play a big role in promoting the Olympic brand. Savas has strong views on how to achieve this. 'Being a highly efficient, organised team, with a strong focus on service quality will be vital. Good communications with employees and customers, a close watch on costs with 24/7 availability, are some of the perimeters that I believe will drive the success of this project.

'As Greece relies on tourism, we import more than we export. Our airfreight exports are mostly ship spares to ports worldwide, as well as perishables especially local fresh fish. Our first main export destinations are Cyprus and New York, whilst all island and mainland domestic destinations are connected to Athens with commercial and dedicated cargo flights with mail, courier traffic and newspapers. We see Athens and Thessaloniki airports with Piraeus and Thessaloniki ports acting as hubs for incoming and transit cargos from the Middle and Far East. European bound exports will continue to travel by road and air.

'Projects such as air/sea and air/road have great potential if supported by efficient cost effective logistics. Thanks to the lack of manufacturing industries, Greece is suffering less than many other countries during the downturn. I am optimistic about the coming years.'