Ground troops. I was fired because “there are ethical, moral and legal norms that I do not overstep” – observer.

Groundforce is having its worst months in its history since 2020. The pandemic brought the business to a near standstill, followed by layoffs and pay cuts, as well as a war between majority shareholder Alfredo Casimiro and another shareholder, TAP, who is also a customer (representing 70% of the company’s business) and a supplier. A soap opera with even more bizarre episodes, such as the exchange of accusations between Casimiro and the Minister of Guardianship, Pedro Nuno Santos, who even circulated tapes of the meetings between them.

Paulo Neto Leite went through all of this and witnessed the hardships of a Portuguese service company (which handles the ground handling of commercial aircraft) – a case of success (followed by years of positive results) until a pandemic broke out. In the first big interview after (and after) his stepping down as CEO, the manager tells the Observer what actually led to his departure, ideas for the future of the company, and why he believes Groundforce is not only viable as essential.

Groundforce has already crossed the limit of viability?
Groundforce is a company that has not crossed the limit of viability, because the company’s own business is a business that will last for a long time. We are talking about concession activities and have been hit hard by the pandemic, it cannot be hidden, but this is a company that has a future, it has qualified people. This is not the same as deciding to increase the packaging of yoghurt in a hypermarket, we hire several storekeepers and do it overnight. [Na Groundforce] We are talking about people who have a lot of training, who have a huge set of informational constraints due to security, and therefore this is not a business that can end overnight. This is a business that will flourish again. The country will always need support from tourism – tourism is an important activity of our GDP.

[Vídeo. Essencial da entrevista a Pedro Neto Leite:]

None of the shareholders have the ability to capitalize the company; equipment sold by TAP; there are currently no cases. Most likely, you need help from Portuguese taxpayers or not?
Capital injection into the company has never been considered. What was on the table was the result of the moment we lived, the economy and lack of liquidity. All banks were very reluctant to help the aviation sector because it was not known how long the pandemic would last. In April 2020, we said: “Will this last until summer or will we have a difficult summer?” We never imagined that in March 2021 our airspace would be closed. Banks were not available for assistance in the aviation sector. And what was requested was approval, because with the restoration of operations, the company will be able to maintain its operations and support its business.