Dubai’s dnata eyes expand of cargo operations at Sydney Airport

By Ashika Rajan, Trainee Reporter
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One of the world’s largest air services providers, UAE-based Dubai National Air Transport Association (dnata) has gained a five-year lease with Sydney Airport to extend its existing cargo facility at the international airfreight terminal by 4,800 square meters (sqm).

The expanded 16,300 sqm location, which will have direct ramp access, will include more landside and airside ports, as well as greater processing capacity and throughput with the ability to scale.

By mid-2021, an additional truck hoist will be installed to complement the existing lift at the on-airport warehouse. Forwarders with airside accredited drivers can now lodge their entire units at the bypass as an added value.

dnata also has a 10,000-sqm specialized import warehouse in Matraville, Sydney’s Eastern Suburb, where containers are broken down and loose cargo is collected by the forwarding community. The de-containerization procedure is made easier at this off-airport warehouse, which has ball decks.

Mr. Brett Fuller, Managing Director, dnata Australia, remarked that “we are committed to consistently investing in infrastructure and equipment to deliver world-class service, safety, and efficiency to our customers. This expansion provides strategic and operational benefits for dnata to support continued cargo volume growth driven by increased customer demand.”

dnata operates six cargo terminals in Australia, including operations in Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne, and Perth, moving about 300,000 tonnes each year nationally for more than 20 airline customers. In recent years, the air services provider has made considerable investments in infrastructure, equipment, and training to supply the market with the most innovative solutions.

Both Sydney Airport and Melbourne Airport have dnata cool chain facilities. The facilities were created with flexibility and unique product requirements in mind, allowing the company’s cargo teams to provide airline customers with an uncompromised temperature-controlled handling and storage solution.

At both airports, dnata operates two cool dollies, offering the greatest level of supply chain management for handling temperature-sensitive cargo.

The pharmaceutical handling services at dnata’s facilities have been awarded the Good Distribution Practice (GDP) certification, making it the first air services provider in Australia to do so.

GDP is a program that focuses on warehouse and distribution center systems that store and distribute medicinal or active pharmaceutical ingredient products.

dnata is a global aviation services company with over 300 airline customers, providing ground handling, cargo, and catering services at 127 airports in 19 countries.

dnata’s customer-focused teams handled 681,000 aircraft, moved 2.9 million tonnes of cargo, and hoisted more than 93 million meals in the fiscal year 2019-20.

Related: Bahrain’s Gulf Air to trial IATA Travel Pass on London, Athens & Singapore flights

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