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GLOBAL NEWSdnata to invest over €200 million at SchipholAirpo to build the dnata Cargo City AmsterdamAmsterdam, The Netherlands: Leading global air andtravel services provider, dnata, is investing over €200million in a fully automated cargo center, the dnataCargo City Amsterdam, at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol(AMS).As one of the largest and most advanced facilities of itskind, dnata Cargo City Amsterdam will significantlyenhance cargo capacity in The Netherlands and createnew, direct jobs with dnata. It will enable dnata and itscustomers to substantially expand operations andbusiness, stimulating local economy and trade, thecompany noted.Located at Schiphol South-East, the61,000 m facility will includeincreased, 19,000 m warehousespace, and be capable of processingover 850,000 tonnes of cargoannually. It will comply with thehighest industry standards ensuringefficient and safe handling of alltypes of cargo, includingperishables, pharmaceuticals,dangerous goods, mail, live animals,aircraft engines and vehicles. Thefacility is scheduled to becomeoperational in 2024.dnata Cargo City Amsterdam will be developed bySchiphol Commercial Real Estate and equipped byLödige Industries with cutting-edge technologies. Theproject is Schiphol Real Estate’s largest ever commercialproperty development at AMS. Furthermore, the projectwill earn BREEAM excellent certification for sustainabilityand eco-friendly design of the facility.Over the past years, dnata has continued to makestrategic investments in its operations to furtherenhance its service offering. This included the openingof new, state-of-the-art cargo facilities in Manchester(UK), Karachi and Lahore (Pakistan), and additional cargocapacity and infrastructure in Brussels (Belgium), Sydney(Australia) and Toronto (Canada). In addition, this Marchdnata will open the second phase of the dnata City Eastproject at London Heathrow (UK).dnata currently provides passenger, ground handlingand cargo services to 29 airlines at AMS. dnata TheNetherlands’ customer-oriented team consists of 1,000aviation professionals, who assist over 1.5 millionpassengers, ensure the smooth operations of some8,000 flights, and handle 580,000 tons of cargo annually."We are thrilled to announce a massive, long-terminvestment in our cargo operations. dnata Cargo CityAmsterdam will be a game changer in the regional cargoindustry, delivering significant commercial benefits forour partners, their customers and the local economy,”said David Barker, dnata’s Divisional Senior Vice President for AirportOperations."Our new cargo facility will enable us to meet the rapidly growing demandfor our efficient and reliable services, providing best-in-class solutions toour customers. In addition, it will help us continue to consistently deliveron our two core promises of quality and safety. We thank SchipholAirport’s teams for their support and are looking forward to continuing oursuccessful partnership to strengthen Amsterdam’s position as a leadingcargo hub in the continent,” he added.Jan Willem Weissink, Managing Director,Schiphol Commercial, said:"Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is Europe’s best-connected airport, with themost direct air destinations. The cargo operation is of critical importanceto our airport’s network which became even more evident during theCOVID pandemic. Together with dnata and other partners, Schiphol isworking on a highly successful, efficient and sustainable cargo operation.We are delighted to have started the construction of dnata Cargo CityAmsterdam for one of our most important partners in the cargo operationat Amsterdam Airport Schiphol".dnata Cargo City Amsterdam will be equipped with two separateautomated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), using the latesttechnology from Lödige Industries, for import and export with twelvestacker cranes. A total of up to 2,500 pallets will be stored here. Inaddition, a separate storage for ULDs will be serviced by four elevatingtransport 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 LödigeIndustries, will be applied here for the first time on a large scale. Anotherspecial feature will be the implementation of smart gates, whichautomatically record the volume and weight of all incomingconsignments by scanning them in 3D, thus significantly speeding uphandling and improving the quality of service.All elements will be integrated into a comprehensive high performancewarehouse management system to enable dnata to further grow itsoperations and service at Schiphol. The high level of automation will notonly save dnata space and time, but will also increase safety and free upstaff for higher-value tasks.As one of the world’s leading air services providers, dnata provides qualityand reliable ground handling, cargo, catering and retail services at over120 airports in 14 countries.15AirCargoUpdate