dnata, a leading global air and travel services provider, announced a major, over €200 million investment in a fully automated cargo centre, dnata Cargo City Amsterdam, at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS).

As one of the largest and most advanced facilities of its kind, dnata Cargo City Amsterdam will significantly enhance cargo capacity in The Netherlands and create new, direct jobs with dnata.  It will enable dnata and its customers to substantially expand operations and business, stimulating local economy and trade.

Located at Schiphol South-East, the 61,000 m² facility will include increased, 19,000 m² warehouse space, and be capable of processing over 850,000 tonnes of cargo annually. It will comply with the highest industry standards ensuring efficient and safe handling of all types of cargo, including perishables, pharmaceuticals, dangerous goods, mail, live animals, aircraft engines and vehicles. The facility is scheduled to become operational in 2024.

dnata Cargo City Amsterdam will be developed by Schiphol Commercial Real Estate and equipped by Lödige Industries with cutting-edge technologies. The project is Schiphol Real Estate’s largest ever commercial property development at AMS. Furthermore, the project will earn BREEAM excellent certification for sustainability and eco-friendly design of the facility.

Today’s announcement underlines dnata’s relentless commitment to providing world-class safety and services through the latest technologies, under all market conditions. Over the past years, dnata has continued to make strategic investments in its operations to further enhance its service offering. This included the opening of new, state-of-the-art cargo facilities in Manchester (UK), Karachi and Lahore (Pakistan), and additional cargo capacity and infrastructure in Brussels (Belgium), Sydney (Australia) and Toronto (Canada). In addition, this March dnata will open the second phase of the dnata City East project at London Heathrow (UK).

dnata currently provides passenger, ground handling and cargo services to 29 airlines at AMS. dnata The Netherlands‘ customer-oriented team consists of 1,000 aviation professionals, who assist over 1.5 million passengers, ensure the smooth operations of some 8,000 flights, and handle 580,000 tons of cargo annually.

David Barker, dnata’s Divisional Senior Vice President for Airport Operations, said: “We are thrilled to announce a massive, long-term investment in our cargo operations. dnata Cargo City Amsterdam will be a game changer in the regional cargo industry, delivering significant commercial benefits for our partners, their customers and the local economy.

“Our new cargo facility will enable us to meet the rapidly growing demand for our efficient and reliable services, providing best-in-class solutions to our customers. In addition, it will help us continue to consistently deliver on our two core promises of quality and safety. We thank Schiphol Airport’s teams for their support and are looking forward to continuing our successful partnership to strengthen Amsterdam’s position as a leading cargo hub in the continent.

“We continue to invest in infrastructure, equipment and cutting-edge technologies with a clear focus on sustainability to further enhance our offering and offset our carbon footprint across our global network.”

Jan Willem Weissink, Managing Director,Schiphol Commercial, said:  “Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is Europe’s best-connected airport, with the most direct air destinations. The cargo operation is of critical importance to our airport’s network which became even more evident during the COVID pandemic. Together with dnata and other partners, Schiphol is working on a highly successful, efficient and sustainable cargo operation. We are delighted to have started the construction of dnata Cargo City Amsterdam for one of our most important partners in the cargo operation at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol”.

dnata Cargo City Amsterdam will be equipped with two separate automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), using the latest technology from Lödige, for import and export with twelve stacker cranes. A total of up to 2,500 pallets will be stored here. In addition, a separate storage for ULDs will be serviced by four elevating transport vehicles (ETV).

dnata will also make use of seven intelligent automated guided vehicles (AGV) to enable flexible and scalable ULD transport within the terminal. These AGVs, which represent a recent product innovation of Lödige Industries, will be applied here for the first time on a large scale. Another special feature will be the implementation of smart gates, which automatically record the volume and weight of all incoming consignments by scanning them in 3D, thus significantly speeding up handling and improving the quality of service.

All elements will be integrated into a comprehensive high performance warehouse management system to enable dnata to further grow its operations and service at Schiphol. The high level of automation will not only save dnata space and time, but will also increase safety and free up staff for higher-value tasks.

As one of the world’s leading air services providers, dnata provides quality and reliable ground handling, cargo, catering and retail services at over 120 airports in 14 countries.