A new 'Central Load Planning' service will be provided by Swissport UK to Virgin Atlantic worldwide, under a new deal between the two companies.

Swissport UK is already providing a complete 'ground handling' service for Virgin Atlantic at Gatwick airport (since the year 2004) and Manchester Airport, but the new agreement includes flights of Virgin Atlantic at other UK airports as well as for plane down route in other regions. So, this is a very deal for Virgin Atlantic, as they will be able to use the services of Swissport UK for their passengers in all the airports.

Load Planning involves making calculations for the load and balance of a flying machine in order to make sure that it operates safely as well as efficiently while making the most of payload opportunities.

It is for the first time that Swissport is providing its 'Central Load Planning' services fully to a carrier. It has set up a brand new completely serviced centre, near Manchester Airport, and a dedicated team will be working on its Central Load Planning service-this will be very good development for passengers of Virgin Atlantic.

The Operations Director at Swissport, Ian Barrie, said, "This is an exciting and significant new contract for Swissport.

We are very pleased to be working closely with Virgin Atlantic. We have vast weight and balance experience within the company. To develop a specialist team gives us a new strength in the ground handling sector".