Joseph Suidan, Head of Ground Operations, International Air Transport Association
"It gives me great pleasure to be able to account for Mike Thuersam's considerable contributions to the aviation industry in general and to the field of ground operations in particular.
I have known Mike since 2008. Since that time we have worked together on several strategic projects involving ground operations in the Aviation Industry. With myself working at IATA and Mike working with a major player in the ground service provider ranks, we were able to make a good team for presenting the benefits of airlines and ground service providers working together for the improvement of ground operations. We were initially involved in the IATA Safety Audit Ground Operations (ISAGO) initiative and Mike was one of the primary supporters and promoters of this initiative to what was a very sceptical industry. Suffice to say that, without Mike’s efforts, the program would not be nearly as well advanced as it is today.
Once we had ISAGO on its way, he was one of the proponents of the drive to achieve global consistency in ground operations which led to the launching of the IATA Ground Operations Manual (IGOM) project. Again Mike, being in Swissport, was ideally placed to drive this initiative amongst the ranks of the ground service providers. He also joined the IGOM task force at the outset of the initiative and played a pivotal role as the vice-chairman of this group – in effect being the leader of the ground service provider body within this group set up and run by the airlines.
Throughout Mike’s time in ISAGO and IGOM, he has been the voice of the ground handler. He has been vocal and forceful both in his support for the initiatives as well as in his criticisms which have always been constructive."
Mamadou Camara, Mamadou Camara, Manager GSA & OPS Support, Cargolux AIrlines International SA - Bamako, Mali
"I had a super experience visiting you up there in Brugg. I still wonder if I ever had such a privileged learning environment with such an exceptional trainer. All through the session, he had given me (and this was exactly the case) the feeling that he knew exactly my leaning needs with highest relevance to the contents, the approach of knowledge transfer, and courtesy. Above all, Michael’s expertise is unquestionable as he knows very well tips for innovation. For example, he gave examples from ICAO, in addition, developed how to make more accurate practices while assessing risks. I found this fantastic!
Roeland Krom, Owner, CS /webworks
"It has been a pleasure to have worked closely with Mike over the past years.
He is able to combine a long term vision with attention to detail. Thanks to his insights and pragmatic approach we've created some excellent applications together."
