A Ground Handling Licence (GHL) is required by any person who wish to carry out ground handling services in Malaysia. Refer to the Second Schedule of the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia Act 2017 [Act 778] on the list of ground handling activities that require a Licence.
Every GHL includes specific legally-binding conditions on the services that the licensee is authorised to operate, the validity period of the licence as well as the conditions to which the licence is subjected to.
Any person looking to apply for a GHL should contact aerolicence@caam.gov.my to set up a pre-application meeting.
Applications are assessed based on a range of criteria, including but not limited to the following:
- whether the applicant is a company incorporated in Malaysia and is directly under the control of a Malaysian company as well as the ownership structure of the applicant;
- demand for the specific ground handling services;
- the existence of the same services in the airport, their efficiency and regularity;
- the experience and competency of the management team of the company;
- the feasibility of the proposed business plan; and
- the financial viability of the business.
The latest CAAM decisions relating to GHL can be found here.
The only exceptions are organisations which already have an ASL or ASP and run ground handling services solely for their own operations. In these cases, the GHL is typically valid for the same length as the Air Service Licence or Permit.
To renew your GHL, a written application should be submitted to aerolicence@caam.gov.my. Initiate a formal application process. Upon full submission of the required documentation, the document evaluation would commence.
Every holder of a GHL is required to provide regular financial and operational reports as part of their licence conditions.
