Dnata unveils plans for extended facilities at Heathrow

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Air service provider Dnata has announced a new development in its Dnata City project, a purpose-built cargo logistics centre at the heart of London Heathrow Airport.

In addition to the extensive space covered by its existing warehouses, Dnata hopes to provide three additional facilities, providing 206,000 sq ft of new cargo space. New, state-of-the-art buildings will consist of a 78,000 sq ft cargo warehouse and a 54,000 sq ft facility and a 40,000 sq ft building, with a combined additional office space of 34,000 sq ft across the three facilities.

The Dnata City complex, which offers world leading air services, currently handlse 21 wide-body flights daily for Virgin Atlantic, with a 60,000 square foot facility nearby at Bedfont Road dedicated to Cathay Pacific's passenger and freighter cargo operations. The complex also encompasses the handler's existing 60,000 square foot self-contained transport yard, where it has a fleet of 85 modern trucks equipped with GPS tracking equipment providing 24/7 coverage with 4,000 truck movements currently servicing 656 flights every week.

The new facilities will also feature fully automated cargo handling systems as well as chiller rooms, valuable handling facilities and are specially designed to handle peak freighter cargo alongside general cargo flows. Dnata has launched a new website, detailing the investment plans, which features an array of information about the new enhanced freight facilities at the UK's Heathrow Airport.

"As a global player in the air cargo business, Dnata is committed to making a strong contribution to improving Heathrow Airport's air cargo infrastructure," said Gary Morgan, CEO of Dnata's UK operations.

"We were concerned about the lack of new air cargo facilities and felt the need to step forward to create and deliver industry-leading air cargo services which will shape the future of our industry at Heathrow," he continued.

"Dnata City can offer customers a range of versatile options to suit their specific needs," said Mohammed Akhlaq, Business Development Director, Cargo, for Dnata's business in the UK. "At this stage we are able to have meaningful input from carriers into both design aspects and to ensure we have the required handling systems in place," he added.