dnata has always been a celebrated and integral part of UAE Civil Aviation. As a key contributor to the cargo industry, one of its most senior and dedicated team leader, Steve Allen, Chief Executive Officer, dnata, shares insights in to how the handler has transformed India’s aviation industry over the past six decades.
CT Bureau
dnata since its inception in 1959 has expanded its operations and services, growing to become pivotal to the success and growth of Dubai, and of the country’s aviation industry. Discussing its legacy in cargo, Steve Allen, CEO, dnata Group, said, “The impact of COVID on the aviation, travel and tourism industries has been significant. Since the pandemic of 2019, we realised we could only overcome the crisis, if we join forces with our partners and put health and safety of people at the heart of everything we do.” He added, “We have improved services, processes and training to adapt to the new operating environment and help our customers restore confidence in travel. I thank my colleagues and partners at the airport for their commitment to achieving the highest possible level of safety across our operations.”
New initiatives
In early August, the ground handler has secured a multi-year contract to deliver premium inflight catering for Thai Airways as the airline resumes its services to Italy. “Just like the cargo that travels through various global channels and routes, we have many career-enhancing initiatives for our staff. Trained by dnata is a programme that we have run for the past few years. We also conduct talent management programmes, where we look for potential staff and help them move through the ranks,” Allen said.
With this, dnata provides catering and retail services in Italy to 36 airline customers at 11 main airports with a team of more than 880 hospitality professionals. In the financial year 2023-24, dnata catering and retail teams uplifted some 12 million meals for over 140,000 flights in the country. dnata’s catering and retail division is one of the world’s leading inflight hospitality providers. The company’s 10,500 catering professionals produce over 110 million meals annually, serving full service, low-cost and VIP carriers from more than 60 locations.
In May 2024, dnata completed a mass disinfection programme of all GSE to protect its employees and customers’ passengers. A bowser spray unit and handheld sanitation units were used to ensure the most effective disinfection was carried out on all equipment airside, including the company’s cargo operations. More than 11,500 pieces of GSE,
including buses, baggage dollies, and pushback tractors, were disinfected at the two Dubai airports.
In addition to the disinfection of its equipment and facilities, in early 2022 dnata supplied employees with PPE, including masks and sanitisers. Detailed norms on wearing and safe disposal of PPE were provided to staff. Safety inspections are conducted by a dedicated team, with briefings held daily to ensure that all norms are adhered to.
dnata’s ground handling, cargo, and travel and retail businesses measure direct and indirect emissions related to the number of flight TATs and revenue to enable comparison and YoY improvement. Having mirrored Dubai’s growth, the group presently employs 23,000 staff, delivering world-class services to hundreds of cargo airlines across the UAE. Daily, the company handles more than 1,600 tonnes of cargo, 220,000 bags, manage 580 safe aircraft TATs in Dubai.
Significant milestones
- Playing part in the design of the original Dubai International Airport in the 1960s and its three terminals
- The first aircraft TAT at Dubai airport’s newly opened terminal in 1971
- The launch of marhaba and its airport hospitality services in 1991
- Its expansion into Dubai World Central airport (DWC) in 2010
- The opening of a new export customer service centre and Cargo Integrated Control Centre at Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZA) in 2016
- The completion of the UAE’s first ‘green’ turnaround of a Flydubai aircraft at DXB in 2019, an achievement made possible by consistent investments in zero emission, electric ramp ground support equipment
