John Menzies Ltd. is an aviation services business providing aircraft ground handling services, through its subsidiary Menzies Aviation Ltd. The company also provides air cargo services through its subsidiary Air Menzies International. The company is based in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland, United Kingdom. On 4 August 2022, Agility Logistics acquired the company and announced that it would begin to integrate its operations with its

National Aviation Services National Aviation Services (NAS) is an aviation services provider headquartered in Kuwait City, Kuwait. The company currently operates at 55 airports through emerging markets countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Background NAS ...

subsidiary, and rebrand the combined business as Menzies Aviation.

History

The company was founded by a bookseller, John Menzies, with his first shop in Princes Street, Edinburgh, in 1833. In 1941, the company's branch in

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

was destroyed in the Greenock Blitz. In 1948 John Menzies opened their first bookstall at Turnhouse Airport in Edinburgh. Menzies bookshops and newsagents spread across the United Kingdom, often located at railway stations. The company acquired other operators such as Wyman & Sons in 1959. The first move into what would become Menzies core business began in 1987, with the acquisition of the Scan International Group and Cargosave handling companies. Its operation at

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

began with the acquisition of Concorde Express Transport in 1995. In January 1998, the company closed its principal branch in Edinburgh, although the head office continued to occupy the building. The whole retail operation was sold to

WHSmith WH Smith plc, trading as WHSmith (also written WH Smith and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son), is a British retailer, with headquarters in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of railway station, airport, port, hospital and motorway service s ...

in May 1998, to enable Menzies to concentrate on its distribution business. In January 2007, the company merged its newspaper and magazine wholesale distribution businesses in Northern Ireland into a joint venture with

Eason & Son Eason Retail PLC, known as Easons or Eason, is an Irish retail company best known for selling books, stationery, cards, gifts, newspapers and magazines. Headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, it is the largest supplier of books, magazines, and ...

, which became known as EM News Distribution; the company acquired the 50% it did not own in May 2017. On 31 January 2017, Menzies Aviation completed the acquisition of specialist aircraft fueller Aircraft Services International (ASIG) from BBA Aviation for US$202m. After a planned merger between the Menzies Distribution and the

DX Group DX (trading as DX and DX Freight) is a British mail, courier and logistics company, with operations throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland based in Datchet, England. They employ more than 3,000 staff, and their network covers most UK and ...

collapsed in August 2017, the company announced, in July 2018, that it had sold the distribution division to private equity company Endless, with the former owner retaining a 10% share in the business. On 27 March 2020, the company confirmed it had been badly affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and reduced its headcount by over 17,500. The number of flights Menzies handled globally fell by 60% during the second quarter 2020. Ground handling equipment at OR Tambo Airport domestic terminal February 2025

Ground handling equipment at OR Tambo Airport domestic terminal February 2025

In April 2022, Menzies Aviation acquired

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

-based ground and air cargo handling services company, Agunsa Aviation Services. In August 2022, Agility Logistics acquired the company for £571 million stating it intended to merge its operations with its

subsidiary. In February 2023, it was announced Menzies Aviation had acquired a majority stake in the

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

n ground and cargo handling company, AJAS Limited.

Notes

References

{{reflist

External links

Official Website
Aircraft ground handling companies British companies established in 1833 Companies based in Edinburgh Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Service companies of Scotland 1833 establishments in Scotland 2022 mergers and acquisitions