Peter Schorsch
Miami-Dade could be setting itself up for problems at its top economic engine.
The county is looking to award half a dozen aviation service companies contracts for passenger and below-the-wing work at its main flight hub, Miami International Airport (MIA).
The vetting process is intensive, but not particularly thorough. All but one of the companies has had serious safety incidents that should raise red flags for county and airport decision-makers who have faced criticism over delayed maintenance and repairs at the hub.
The county advertised up to six general aeronautical service permits (GASPs) for the airport on Sept. 11 for work inside MIA terminals, on the tarmac and in cargo facilities. It received 10 responses, from which it short-listed six companies.
Five companies — American Sales and Management Organization, G2 Secure Staff, Swissport USA, Triangle Services of Florida and Ultra Aviation Services — have existing GASPs with the county and are looking to re-up with the county.
A sixth, Worldwide Flight Services, doesn’t have a GASP contract with the county.
To attain a GASP, the companies had to prove to the county that they hold or have applied for a Safety Audit for Ground Operations designation (ISAGO) from the International Air Transport Association. ISAGO designations are non-transferable to MIA, meaning companies without one specific to Miami must get one there within six months of receiving a GASP award.
Worldwide Flight Service provided Miami-Dade with proof it has an ISAGO at its headquarters and airport in Los Angeles and Seattle, but included no plans to obtain one at MIA in its proposal.
Miami-Dade Strategic Procurement staff nevertheless recommended Worldwide for a GASP award.
Staff also overlooked troubling safety issues with the company and with others on the shortlist.
The most disturbing incident occurred at Boston Logan International Airport on Aug. 29, 2023, when an employee of a company wholly owned by Worldwide was crushed to death by a forklift after falling from the vehicle while not wearing a seatbelt.
An investigation by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) found that the company, Oxford Airport Technical Services, had not properly trained its workers and that proper training would have prevented the accident.
OSHA cited Worldwide for three other “serious” but nonfatal violations in October 2022 at Worldwide’s facility at MIA. Had the company learned from its mistakes then, the 51-year-old Boston worker may not have died less than a year later. The violations included employees placing themselves in a potential crushing hazard while operating a forklift without a seatbelt, obstructing fire exits and using a water bottle to store gasoline.
Worldwide received four fines for the fatal incident in Boston for which it ultimately paid $32,000. In a March 11 press release detailing the Boston incident, OSHA Area Director James Mulligan called the accident “simply inexcusable.”
OSHA’s cases against Worldwide at MIA are still open.
Four of the five existing GASP holders have also received OSHA citations marked as “serious.”
American Sales and Management Organization, which operates as EULEN America, received 16 citations in 2019 and 2020 for which OSHA fined the company tens of thousands of dollars.
Most occurred in Florida, including incidents at MIA involving excessive heat exposure, an improperly treated cockroach infestation, exposure to infectious materials and failure to provide workers with hepatitis B treatment after exposure.
EULEN has also been the subject of numerous accusations of mistreating employees and, between 2016 and 2018, several MIA passengers have sued the company over injuries they suffered after allegedly being struck or lacerated by its vehicles.
G2 Secure Staff’s OSHA file is shorter but more tragic. A G2 employee was killed on Sept. 25, 2019, after a forklift-type machine called a belt loader lunged forward and pinning his neck to an airplane.
The company was also fined the same year for “serious” violations involving truck operations.
Swissport USA was cited by OSHA last year for “serious” violations in which employees were exposed to electrical shock hazards, failed to wear seatbelts while operating heavy machinery (including forklifts) and used damaged or faulty industrial vehicles.
OSHA also cited Swissport for regularly exposing employees to potentially infectious materials and bodily fluids while not providing them with training on hazardous chemical exposure, masks, body coverings or the hepatitis B vaccine.
Triangle Services of Florida’s parent company, Triangle Services, faced numerous citations over the past decade, including one in 2017, when OSHA found the company failed to employ proper safety protocols at JFK International Airport in New York, putting workers at risk of deadly falls.
Four other companies applied for but did not receive a recommendation from the county selection committee in charge of vetting GASP applicants: AGI Ground, Menzies Aviation, PrimeFlight Aviation Services and Unifi Aviation.
Florida Politics contacted numerous Miami-Dade and MIA procurement staff members for comment and clarification but received no substantive response by press time.
One comment
Diana Cavita
November 26, 2024 at 1:19 pm
It would be interesting to know which lobbying firm(s?) were retained for such…effective…lobbying.