Tag: dnata

dnata adds electric tugs to Sao Paulo Guarulhos fleet

dnata electric tugs in Sao Paulo 2 resizeddnata has invested $1.7 million by adding 24 electric tugs to its GSE fleet at São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport.

The tugs will transport passenger baggage between aircraft and the airport terminal, and will prevent 420 tonnes of CO2 emissions from being released annually, the equivalent of more than 1.7 million kilometres of driving an average petrol-powered car.

Phil McGrane, CEO of dnata Brazil says the ground services provider is proud to invest in electric GSE, which will help dnata Brazil maintain service and safety levels while cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

He said: “We will continue to work closely with our partners to further improve environmental efficiency in the Brazilian aviation industry. This includes strong collaboration with the infrastructure providers, whose investment is crucial for advancing the electrification of GSE fleets.”

dnata is investing in its global GSE fleet to improve environmental performance and is committed to phasing out diesel-powered engines, which will be replaced by hybrid, electric or hydrogen power wherever airports have suitable infrastructure.

Minimising fuel consumption is a focus for dnata, with its GSE fleet getting monitored with Vehicle Tracking Management systems, mapping exercises to minimise the distance travelled, and optimised shifts and parking slots to reduce fuel burn.

Driver behaviour is also tracked to encourage better driving through education, awareness and training.

In the 2023-24 financial year, data verified by Verifavia, an independent accredited environmental verification and auditing body found that dnata’s carbon intensity was reduced by over 8%, 22% and 26% in its airport operations, travel and catering businesses respectively.

dnata to use Damarel FiNDnet Enterprise in the USA

Damarel signs contract with dnata USA resizedDamarel is providing dnata with its latest generation FiNDnet Enterprise solution for ground handlers, which will be rolled out across stations in the USA.

The contract was signed at the 8th Americas GHI Conference, which was held from 25-27 June in Toronto, Canada by David Barker, Regional CEO Airport Operations at dnata and John Boult, Managing Director of Damarel.

The turnaround tool will be encompassed into dnata’s billing and turnaround process, and it will be integrated with AI cameras.

dnata will roll out the tool at Orlando International Airport by September, followed by John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York before implementing it across the rest of its US network by the end of March next year.

Paul Bruton, Consultant at Damarel said it is a brand new technology stack, capturing much more detail for service provisions and a more advanced precision timing schedule for tracking turnarounds and other processes.

James Kelly, Client Account Manager added that the new product can capture photos for risk mitigation so handlers can show how the aircraft was presented to them.

The legacy mobile application was purely online, Kelly added, saying: “You had to be connected in order to use it. The new application has offline functionalities so if you are out of signal for a period of time, you can still capture information, which will synchronise when you get back into range.”

The product can capture generic services, said Bruton, which can cover services in the hangar or cleaning the airline’s offices, along with a new deadload management feature.

“As well as presenting the flight, SLAs and service information to agents on the mobile device, we can present them with a list of all the inbound containers on the aircraft for unloading and see containers being built for departures, when they are on the stand ready for loading and identify if containers are missing,” said Bruton.

Boult added that dnata teams have experience of using the system so they can standardise procedures and processes, saying: “Using the centralised enterprise tool, they can compare and contrast, taking huge amounts of information, plug it into their business intelligence platforms to drill into details so they can bring everyone up to the dnata levels of excellence.”

dnata achieves ISAGO accreditation at JFK

dnata USA ISAGO at New York JFK resized

dnata USA has been awarded IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) Accreditation at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport.

The ISAGO audit programme covers areas of organisation and management, load control, passenger and baggage handling, aircraft handling and loading and aircraft ground movement.

Benefits to airlines, ground handlers and authorities include safer ground operations, fewer accidents, elimination of redundant audits, reduced costs, a uniform audit process and harmonised standards, among other benefits.

David Barker, Divisional Senior Vice President for Airport Operations at dnata says: “We consistently invest in training, equipment and industry-leading technologies to deliver world-class safety for our staff, partners and their customers. The achievement of the ISAGO accreditation is a remarkable milestone which demonstrates our relentless commitment to safety and service excellence.”

dnata enhances cargo services using drones in Dallas

dnata has started deploying dronesdronesdnataREN in its warehouses at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to digitise inventory processes and monitor shipments.

Working in partnership with US-based tech start-up, Gather AI, the artificial intelligence software enables the drones to map the environment, collect inventory data, count cases, measure temperature and read barcodes by using cameras.

The drones are paired to a tablet device providing live inventory data, which can then be viewed directly on the tablet or the web, via a user-friendly application. They can operate at temperatures as low as -10oC, enabling dnata to take advantage of the technology in its state-of-the-art cool chain facilities, too.

dnata plans to gradually roll out the drones across its global cargo network in the next years.

Guillaume Crozier, dnata’s Divisional Vice President for Operations and Product Development, said: “We are excited to introduce leading-edge drone technology in our operations to take cargo handling to the next level.

“Our partner’s autonomous drones and inventory management platform provides greater transparency across our entire operations. This new technology, combined with our strong cargo product expertise, enables us to significantly enhance efficiency and mitigate the risk of revenue leakage throughout the customer journey.”

Watch this video to find out how autonomous drones help the handler digitise processes and monitor shipments with 99.8 accuracy.