Erbil Airport houses new dnata cool-chain facility, cargo warehouse

Emirates-owned ground services provider dnata is expanding its operational footprint at Erbil International Airport (EBL) in the Kurdistan region of Iraq with a new cool-chain facility, a bus maintenance building and a 16,000-square-meter cargo warehouse, at a total investment of $17 million. Approximately $3.5 million will be allocated to the cool chain and bus maintenance facilities, while $14 million will be directed toward the cargo warehouse, which is expected to open in 2023, according to a Wednesday release from dnata. [caption id="attachment_57065300" align="alignright" width="500"] Photo / dnata[/caption] “Our latest investment in three new facilities will help us further expand and improve our operations in Erbil, as demand for reliable and safe cargo services is on the rise across the region,” Tom Alwyn-Jones, managing director at dnata Erbil, said. The cool chain facility is equipped to process 9,000 tonnes of perishables annually, providing chilled and frozen storage, according to the release. The facility will focus on fresh fruit, meat and pharmaceuticals. While EBL regularly moves pharmaceutical products and vaccines, the airport has seen recent growth in flower and food shipments, with cool chain shipments making up almost 15% of total cargo at EIA, Tom Alwyn-Jones, managing director of dnata Erbil told Air Cargo World . “Historic demand for cool-chain management has been growing steadily over the years,” Alywn-Jones said. “Dnata has been consistently enhancing its offering, but this new, dedicated facility marks a significant change in terms of size and capability. Access to the dedicated cargo apron and close proximity to the flight line will provide world-class capability with timings ‘from aircraft to fridge’ in just 10-30 minutes.” The cargo warehouse will process around 10,000 tonnes of cargo annually using water-harvesting technology, low-energy lighting and an all-electric forklift fleet to enforce sustainability efforts. The warehouse also will handle pharmaceuticals and cool chain commodities, according to dnata. As of February, all dnata facilities in Iraq now feature the digital OneCargo system, which includes safety and quality monitoring as well as automated reporting and unit load device (ULD) management to reduce the need for manual check sheets and eliminate redundancies in operations, according to the release. Dnata earlier this year announced plans to roll out OneCargo globally to 10 stations by 2023, specifically in Pakistan, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the U.S. and Tanzania. Dnata services 25 airlines in Erbil and moved more than 20,000 tonnes of cargo in Iraq over the past year, according to the release. The company also implemented cargo facility expansion at Zanizbar Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (ZNZ) , Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) and London Heathrow International Airport (LHR) in 2021. David Barker, divisional senior vice president at dnata, will join a panel discussion about “No man’s land: Drones and autonomous flight in air cargo logistics,” at the Air Cargo Tech Summit in Miami on Tuesday, June 7, at 1:30 p.m. ET. Learn more and register here.

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