Sergey Starkov, CEO of FCG OPS, discusses the company’s evolution from a small Riga-based operation to a global ground handling provider spanning more than 50 airports across three continents, driven by strategic acquisitions including Astra Aviation, the development of its proprietary ATOM platform, and plans for further expansion and AI integration.

What does a typical day look like for you as CEO of FCG OPS?

A typical day for a CEO at FCG OPS is actually much less about operational firefighting than many people might imagine. Over the years, we have built a very strong leadership structure that includes both department managers and directors, and a significant part of the day-to-day operational execution has been delegated to them. They do an outstanding job, which allows me to focus on the areas where I can create the most value.

A large portion of my role revolves around managing and supporting this leadership team. My daily routine usually consists of one-to-one meetings, leadership syncs and project discussions where my involvement can help move things forward, unblock decisions, or provide strategic direction. I try to be involved where I can genuinely contribute value rather than simply participate for visibility.

Beyond that, my core responsibility as CEO is strategy, growth and long-term development. This is not a daily task in the traditional sense, but rather a continuous process of monitoring where the company is heading, whether we remain aligned with our priorities, and whether we are adapting quickly enough to a rapidly changing environment.

Stakeholder management is also an important part of my role. I work closely with both our internal stakeholders, including partners and shareholders, and with external stakeholders such as strategic partners and suppliers. In our industry, long-term trust and strong relationships are incredibly important.

At the same time, risk management has become a major part of modern leadership. The aviation industry today operates in an environment where geopolitical situations, financial systems, operational restrictions, and market conditions can change very quickly. A significant part of my responsibility is ensuring that the company remains resilient, adaptable, and well prepared for uncertainty.

And finally, I spend a lot of time focusing on organizational culture and leadership development. As the company scales internationally, one of the biggest challenges is maintaining speed, accountability and quality while empowering people to make decisions independently.

The company has grown from its Riga base to more than 50 airports across three continents, including last year’s acquisition of Astra Aviation. What has driven that expansion, and what has been the proudest moment so far?

Over the past 25 years, the company has gone through a remarkable transformation, from a relatively small business operating primarily in Riga and nearby markets into a truly international player with a global footprint across more than 50 airports.

For many years, our growth was largely organic. We expanded step by step, building expertise, relationships and operational strength over time. But over the last few years, we realised that organic growth alone would no longer match our ambitions. We needed a different approach, one focused on strategic acquisitions, deeper expertise and accelerated expansion.

A huge amount of credit for building the company into a serious industry player belongs to my partners and co-owners, Roman Starkov and Leonid Gorodnitski. They spent years laying the foundation of the business and later entrusted the next phase of development to a younger management team led by myself.

The market itself has changed dramatically. Today, many companies are operating as purely virtual intermediaries or procurement-style businesses. That is not the direction we want to take. At FCG OPS, we do not want to simply arrange services. We want to deliver real, valuable operational expertise and comprehensive solutions. Our clients come to us not because we know who to email, but because they trust us to solve complex operational problems and manage risk in real time.

Without question, the most significant milestone so far has been the acquisition of Astra Aviation. This was our first successfully completed acquisition project, and certainly not the last. The process itself took almost two years, including negotiations, due diligence, structuring the deal and then completing the transition and operational integration.

A few years earlier, we had evaluated another acquisition opportunity, but after completing due diligence we decided to walk away because the risks outweighed the potential value. That experience gave us discipline and clarity. With Astra Aviation, we entered the process fully prepared.

Through this project, we gained highly experienced Africa specialists, people who are physically located in the region, speak local languages and deeply understand the operational realities on the ground. That local expertise became the missing element that strengthened our existing global infrastructure and operational network. Sitting in headquarters alone, no matter how strong your central team is, you simply cannot build this level of regional expertise remotely.

The first year has already validated our strategy. Integration is progressing according to plan, ROI is meeting expectations, and several strategic goals connected to the acquisition have already been achieved. Most importantly, Astra Aviation became a turning point in how we see the future of FCG OPS. If we want to continue growing at the speed our ambitions require, we can no longer rely solely on organic expansion. We need to acquire not only businesses, but also expertise, infrastructure, operational capability and strong regional teams.

From the earliest days of FCG OPS, we always worked within some form of centralized operational database. In the beginning, it was a simple Excel structure. Later, we moved to a customized Microsoft Access environment built specifically around our workflows.

Around 15 years ago, we realized that the business had outgrown those tools and that we needed something far more scalable and intelligent. After extensive research, we hired a dedicated development team and began building what would later became ATOM.

Interestingly, leading the development of ATOM was actually my first major project within FCG OPS. Over the last 15 years, the platform has continuously evolved, and development has literally never stopped for a single day.

Initially, ATOM focused on operations automation — scheduling, task management, flight coordination, and workflow distribution. Later, we expanded into invoicing and finance automation. Over time, it evolved into a fully integrated ERP ecosystem supporting operations, CRM, finance, reporting, business intelligence, compliance, and internal coordination.

Client communication was integrated into the system at a very early stage. We always believed transparency was critical, so clients could already monitor flight statuses, permits, and operational updates through their portal.

The Live Tracker functionality appeared several years ago, when we realized that clients increasingly needed visibility not only into what happens in the air, but also what happens on the ground — especially during cargo operations, governmental missions, or operations in more challenging regions.

But Live Tracker is not just a technical feature. It is a combination of technology, operational procedures, real-time coordination from headquarters, and on-site personnel providing live updates from the ground.

And the system continues to evolve. Today, one of our biggest priorities is AI integration. We are currently implementing AI copilots within ATOM, beginning with dispatch operations to help teams work faster, more efficiently, and with fewer errors.

In the future, AI copilots will support multiple functions across the platform and integrate with communication environments such as Outlook and Teams, creating a fully connected operational ecosystem.

But I always emphasize one thing: ATOM is not simply software where we store data. It is the operational backbone of our company.

What is the biggest challenge facing ground handling right now?

Ground handling has changed dramatically over the last decade. Both the operational side on the ground and the organizational work behind every flight have become significantly more complex.

Today, it is no longer enough to simply know the contact details of a ground handler or FBO, send a request, and receive confirmation. Modern ground handling is a highly coordinated operational process involving operations teams, financial departments, logistics specialists, compliance functions, and experienced professionals capable of managing risk in real time.

FCG OPS supports a wide variety of operations including cargo flights, business aviation, ACMI operations, military and governmental missions, as well as medical evacuation flights. Every type of flight requires an individual approach and very careful preparation. All of this creates a level of complexity that can only truly be managed through experience and expertise.

In some locations, we handle several operations every single day, which allows us to maintain constant awareness of local restrictions, operational bottlenecks, and potential risks. Very often, solving issues is not about formal emails, it is about being able to call the right decision-makers directly at any hour because you already see a developing risk before it becomes a problem.

In highly developed regions such as Central Europe, airports already operate at a very high professional level. But in regions where we specialize heavily, particularly Central Asia and Africa, the role of an experienced operational partner becomes much more important.

These are environments where unexpected operational challenges can arise very quickly and success depends not only on solving problems, but on predicting them before they happen.

Another major challenge today is financial infrastructure. International payments into certain regions can be extremely complicated. In many cases, suppliers require prepayments or deposits, while inefficient cross-currency transfers can lead to significant financial losses.

Over time, we have built a sophisticated ecosystem of financial tools, payment systems, and banking solutions that allow us to manage these complexities much more effectively.

So today, ground handling is no longer purely an operational product. Financial infrastructure, operational intelligence, risk management, and local expertise have become equally important components of every successful flight.

What is next for FCG OPS?

FCG OPS is currently in a very active phase of growth and transformation. But for us, growth is not simply about becoming bigger. It is about improving quality, diversifying expertise, and building stronger, more sophisticated products around our core business.

The acquisition of Astra Aviation was only the first step. Over the next five years, we plan to complete several acquisitions as part of our long-term expansion strategy.

At the same time, geographic expansion remains a major priority. We are actively evaluating opportunities to expand both our operational network and sales presence beyond Europe and Asia into new strategic markets.

However, none of these plans are possible without strong leadership and strong teams. One of our biggest priorities today is continuing to strengthen our management structure and operational departments. We are investing heavily in recruiting experienced professionals, developing internal talent, and building a culture where people can grow together with the company.

The market is extremely competitive, and we understand very clearly that we will probably never be the cheapest company in the industry. But that is not our goal. Our ambition is to become one of the strongest companies in the market in terms of reliability, operational expertise, and quality of service.

We also continue to invest heavily in ATOM and AI integration. AI is no longer a future concept for us, it is already becoming part of our operational reality and will significantly strengthen our position in the years ahead.

The next five to seven years will be a very important chapter for FCG OPS. Strategic acquisitions, geographic expansion, AI development, product diversification and continued investment in people will define the next stage of our evolution.

And honestly, we believe we are only at the beginning of what FCG OPS can become.