How was Cobalt formed?
Cobalt was formed on 01 April 2009, by merging the two ground services subsidiaries of Air France and KLM in the UK –– formerly Air France Services Ltd (AFSL) and KLM Ground Services Ltd (KGS).

What makes Cobalt unique?
Strength and range of services, we offer a broader range of services than any other supplier in Terminal 4 or London City.

We have extensive airline expertise and the backing of the world’s leading airline group Air France KLM.

Extensive E-service experience, for example, the highest self service kiosk usage in the industry and use of common user bag drop functionality.

State of the art facilities and ICT, for example airline system access in all areas, airside crew briefing rooms and modern computer based training facilities.

We operate CIP/VIP lounges at Heathrow Terminal 4 and Birmingham Airport Terminal 1.

Highly motivated staff, due to relatively low turnover and recent growth, we have a balanced mix of in-depth experience and newer team players.

How many airlines does Cobalt handle?
Cobalt provides the full spectrum of ground handling solutions to major international and domestic airlines at LHR T4 and LCY. In ground handling, we currently service 24 customer airlines, in the two locations, please visit About us/Our Customers to find out who our ground handling customers are. We serve many more other airlines in our lounges.

Do you have any criteria related to your airline customer portfolio?
We offer our services to any airline focused on a quality product, where safety and operational integrity are of the highest importance. We like to establish a strong supplier – customer partnership, where respective teams work closely together to ensure safe departures, which exceed service level agreements. We service customers with high daily frequencies as well as customers with less frequent schedules, with pride and focus on all customers. We are by far the largest service provider for SkyTeam at LHR Terminal 4, yet we certainly do not limit ourselves to SkyTeam.

What is Cobalt’s position at London Heathrow and London City airport?
At London City Airport as well as at Heathrow Terminal 4 we are the leading ground handler, with a leading market share and state of the art facilities and infrastructure.

At both airports we have very extensive experience of assisting airline route start-ups. Our team works according to an established handling start-up framework to ensure that a route start-up or a handling agent switch is prepared professionally and implemented smoothly.

How many people does Cobalt employ?
Our team’s strength is made up of around 900 employees, while our Full Time Equivalent currently stands at 740, of which 110 are at London City Airport.

How does Cobalt invest in people?
Cobalt invests in its employees even prior to joining the Company - the recruitment process itself can be complex due to the selection and referencing processes required by our airport authorities. Once recruited, however, employees undertake a structured and highly professional training programme – whatever department they join. Training includes systems training (which are function-dependent), all aspects of health and safety (including manual handling, noise, and so on), dangerous goods, customer service, and security awareness, amongst many other subjects. Individual training plans are developed to ensure refresher training is completed, and we are continuously improving employee performance management. We invest in smart, safe uniforms and work wear for all employees (with the exception of administration and management functions) and pride ourselves on promoting a high-quality brand of which all employees can be proud. We continue to offer consistent and rewarding career progression opportunities within Cobalt and have a policy of advertising all vacant positions internally in the first instance.

Does Cobalt have any operations outside the UK?
No, Cobalt Ground Solutions is a UK limited company and for the foreseeable future we will concentrate our efforts at London Heathrow and London City airports.

Where can I apply for a Career within Cobalt?
You are welcome to check for vacancies at the Careers page on this website. If there are any current vacancies, you can apply using the online application form. If there are no vacancies, this will be indicated and application will not be possible.