A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Business Aviation Services Editor

Curt Epstein

Universal Aviation, the ground handling arm of Universal Weather &amp; Aviation, has completed the integration of Portugal-based Safeport’s six ground handling locations into its global network, it said this week at EBACE 2025. Safeport has facilities at five airports in Portugal—Humberto Delgado (LPPT), Lisbon Cascais-Tejo Regional (LPCS), Francisco Sá Carneiro (LPPR), Beja (LPBJ), and Faro International (LPFR)—and one in Cape Verde at Amílcar Cabral International (GVAC), also known as Sal International Airport.
<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2024-10-24/universal-aviation-enters-portugal-and-cape-verde">First announced</a> in October at NBAA-BACE, the deal saw the rebranding of all of these locations as Universal Aviation facilities, extending the brand along the Atlantic corridor and better positioning it to support operators during the upcoming Mediterranean peak season and beyond. It adds additional Universal network capacity for customers operating into and out of Southern Europe or making Atlantic crossings via Cape Verde.
“Our goal has always been to make operating into Portugal and Cape Verde seamless for our clients,” said Universal chairman Greg Evans. “With Safeport now fully integrated, our customers benefit from consistent standards, deeper local expertise, and direct connectivity into one of Europe’s most important and growing regions.”
Universal has seen strong performance across the EMEA region, with overall traffic growth of more than 12% year over year. “The Safeport partnership is one part of a broader strategy to strengthen our network, in line with where demand is growing,” explained John Hewett, the company’s regional v-p for EMEA. “With summer already ramping up, we’re ready, with expanded infrastructure, trusted partners, and data-driven insights to deliver on every mission.”

New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

Universal Aviation Completes Portugal Network Integration

Safeport partnership adds six locations to the ground handling network

Universal Aviation has completed the integration of its Portuguese ground handling partner into its network.

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