What Turkish Ground Services does

Turkish Ground Services (TGS Yer Hizmetleri A.Ş.) is a privately-held ground handling joint venture, established on January 1, 2010, between Turkish Airlines (THY) and Havaş (Havaalanları Yer Hizmetleri A.Ş.). The company provides comprehensive ground handling services — passenger, ramp, cargo, operations, business jet, and representation/supervision management — across 10 airport stations in Turkey, including Istanbul Airport (IST), Sabiha Gökçen (SAW), Ankara Esenboğa, Izmir Adnan Menderes, Antalya, Çukurova International, Milas-Bodrum, Dalaman, and Eskişehir Hasan Polatkan. TGS serves 200+ airline customers with 21,000+ personnel and 10,300+ equipment units, having cumulatively handled 1.272 billion+ passengers and 9 million+ flights since inception.

The technology stack is anchored by an Integrated Management System with proprietary QDMS and CSP software modules supporting digital workflows across passenger, ramp, cargo, and operations processes. Services are delivered under IATA standards and SHY-22 regulation, verified through ISAGO certification (renewed through 2025), and reinforced by ISO 9001, 14001, 27001, 45001, 10002, 14064, and 56002 certifications, plus 'Green Airport' and 'Accessible Airport Operator' accreditations at 8 stations each. A text-based AI virtual assistant handles customer inquiries under KVKK-compliant data processing, and an in-house TGS Akademi training academy holds SHGM, Aviation Security, and Dangerous Goods authorizations.

TGS operates a direct B2B enterprise sales model, contracting bilaterally with airline customers at each station with coordination from its General Directorate in Istanbul. Revenue is generated through transaction-fee service charges across the six core service lines, with pricing undisclosed publicly and no reseller or intermediary distribution layer. Business Jet services are accessible via an online service request form, and the company maintains station-level customer contacts and a dedicated press office. The GTM motion is enterprise field sales complemented by direct service request intake for the Business Jet segment.

Name

Turkish Ground Services

Legal name

TGS Yer Hizmetleri A.Ş.

Website

https://tgs.aero

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Turkish Ground Services (TGS) is a privately-held joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Havaş providing passenger, ramp, cargo, operations, and business jet ground handling across 10 Turkish airport stations, serving 200+ airlines with 21,000+ personnel.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Yesilkoy

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Ground Handling Service Fees (Airlines): TGS charges airlines for ground handling services including passenger, ramp, cargo, and operations services under bilateral agreements. Revenue is generated through contracted service fees with airline customers across 10 airport stations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Turkish Ground Services (TGS) is a private joint-stock company providing comprehensive airport ground handling services to over 200 airline customers across 10 airport stations in Turkey. Its service portfolio covers passenger handling, ramp handling, cargo handling, operations coordination, business jet handling, and representation/supervision for airlines.

Product overview

TGS (Turkish Ground Services) is a ground handling services company operating as a single unified service portfolio across 10 airport stations in Turkey. The company was established on January 1, 2010 as a joint venture between Turkish Airlines and Havaş (Havaalanları Yer Hizmetleri A.Ş.). The service portfolio consists of six interconnected core ground handling services: Passenger Services (Yolcu Hizmetleri), Operations Services (Harekat Hizmetleri), Ramp Services (Ramp Hizmetleri), Business Jet Services (Business Jet Hizmetleri), Cargo Services (Kargo Hizmetleri), and Representation and Supervision Management (Temsil Gözetim Yönetim). These services are delivered under the 'Havaalanları Yer Hizmetleri Yönetmeliği' framework covering ramp, operations, cargo, and passenger handling. Supporting the core services are two add-on offerings: TGS Sanal Asistan (Virtual Assistant) for AI-powered customer communication, and TGS Akademi for internal staff training and development. The company serves over 200 airline companies with more than 21,000 personnel and 10,300 equipment units.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Passenger Services
• Ramp Services
• Cargo Services
• Operations Services
• Business Jet Services
• Representation & Supervision

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,272,000,000+ passengers served since 2010
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Turkish Airlines (Türk Hava Yolları A.O.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Turkish Airlines is the primary joint venture partner and co-founder of TGS. Established on January 1, 2010, the partnership leverages Turkish Airlines' position as Turkey's national flag carrier and one of the world's largest airlines, providing TGS with a major anchor customer and strategic backing in the Turkish aviation market.
• Havaş (Havaalanları Yer Hizmetleri A.Ş.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Havaş (Airports Ground Services Company) is the co-founder and joint venture partner alongside Turkish Airlines in establishing TGS. Havaş contributed its established ground handling expertise, existing airport relationships, and operational infrastructure to the partnership.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Havaş (Havaalanları Yer Hizmetleri A.Ş.): Havaş is TGS's joint-venture co-founder and the historical state-owned ground handling incumbent in Turkey. It provides the same passenger, ramp, cargo, and operations services at overlapping Turkish airports, making it the most direct peer for both contract competition and operational benchmarking.
• Çelebi Ground Handling: Çelebi provides independent ground handling, cargo, and aviation services across multiple countries including Turkey. It competes head-to-head with TGS for airline contracts at Turkish stations and shares the same IATA-standard service portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• TGS-adjacent TAV Ground Services / TAV Airports: TAV operates Istanbul Airport and other airports globally, offering bundled ground handling services within its broader airport operator portfolio. While overlapping with TGS on service offerings, TAV's primary role is airport operation rather than dedicated handler competition.
• Worldwide Flight Services (WFS): WFS is a global air cargo and ground handling provider with major operations at European and international hubs. It overlaps with TGS in cargo handling and represents a comparable scale player in the independent handler category.
• Menzies Aviation: Menzies Aviation is one of the largest independent ground handling and aviation services companies globally, operating at 200+ airports. It is directly comparable to TGS in service mix (passenger, ramp, cargo) and target customer base (commercial airlines).
• dnata: dnata is a major global air services provider owned by the Emirates Group, offering ground handling, cargo, and travel services across more than 80 airports. It mirrors TGS's service portfolio and serves as a reference point for international expansion potential.
• Swissport International: Swissport is the world's largest independent ground handling group, operating across 6+ continents with a comparable passenger, ramp, and cargo service mix. It serves as the primary international benchmark for TGS's operational scale and ISAGO-certified service quality.
• Aviapartner: Aviapartner is a European ground handling group with operations across multiple European airports. Its regional focus and full-service passenger/ramp/cargo offerings make it a relevant comparable for TGS's mid-tier station operations.

Regional players

• AirServ / GAT Airline Ground Support: AirServ and GAT Airline Ground Support are US-focused ground handling and aviation services providers. While geographically distinct from TGS, they share comparable service portfolios and operational structures for benchmarking US-style handler economics.

Others

• ICTS Europe (security-adjacent aviation services): ICTS Europe provides aviation security and passenger handling services adjacent to ground handling operations. It is included as an ecosystem peer given TGS's interaction with security, document verification, and special-assistance passenger workflows.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tgsofficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/turkish-ground-services

Compliance10 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Turkish Ground Services