dnata has become the first global air services provider to adopt the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Dangerous Goods AutoCheck (DG AutoCheck) platform for the acceptance of dangerous goods shipments. IATA’s innovative solution will help dnata further enhance safety and improve efficiency in the handling of dangerous goods at over 20 airports globally.

Stewart Angus, dnata’s Divisional Senior Vice President for International Airport Operations, said: “We are delighted to deliver this innovation to our customers. DG AutoCheck offers an innovative solution to digitally transform and automate dangerous goods acceptance checks, enabling us to ensure the highest level of safety, compliance and efficiency throughout the handling process. In addition, the platform will help us access and effectively manage valuable data which will support us in further optimising our operations.

“We continue to invest in digital technologies to provide best-in-class services to our customers.”

Muhammad Al Bakri, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, said: “dnata’s decision to adopt IATA’s DG AutoCheck is great news for their customers and the cargo industry. It reinforces dnata’s commitment to operating with the highest levels of safety and efficiency, particularly in relation to the carriage of dangerous goods. And their customers will benefit from the efficiency of electronic documentation and the industry will be one step closer to full digitization of the supply chain, essential for the long-term growth of the industry.”

DG AutoCheck is a digital solution that facilitates the acceptance of Dangerous Goods by checking the compliance of the Shipper’s Declaration for Dangerous Goods (DGD) against all relevant rules and regulations contained in the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR). Optical character recognition technology transforms the paper DGD into electronic data. DG AutoCheck can also receive electronic Shipper’s Declaration for Dangerous Goods (e-DGD). This data is then processed and verified automatically using the digital version of the DGR.

DG AutoCheck will also facilitate dnata’s decision to accept or reject a shipment during the physical inspection stage by providing a pictorial representation of the package with the marking and labelling required for air transport.

A global air services provider and the trusted partner of over 300 airline customers, dnata offers ground handling, cargo and catering services at 126 airports in 19 countries. In the financial year 2019-20 dnata’s customer-oriented teams handled 681,000 aircraft, moved 2.9 million tons of cargo, and uplifted more than 93 million meals.