Dnata halts cargo ops in Dubai to recover from system cutover, volume surge

Dubai-based air and travel services provider dnata has announced a 48-hour import embargo on general cargo in Dubai beginning tonight at midnight local time. [caption id="attachment_57065447" align="alignright" width="300"] (Courtesy/dnata)[/caption] The embargo is meant to give dnata some breathing room to clear a backlog at its handling facilities serving Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), aka Dubai World Central. “This is due to a record spike in volumes coinciding with a system cutover that has resulted in a backlog situation at our handling facilities,” a dnata spokesperson told Air Cargo Next . “Our teams are fully committed to resolving the backlog as soon as possible to restore normal operations, and we will keep our customers informed on the progress.” The embargo will affect nearly all carriers served by dnata at its DWC and DXB terminals. The sole exception is carrier Emirates , which operates a separate ground-handling operation. Carriers Air India , Etihad Cargo and Virgin Atlantic Cargo did not return requests for comment by publication time. Growing ops in Dubai Dnata handled 76,000 tonnes of cargo at DWC and DXB in January, a 45% year-over-year increase, according to the handler. The cargo surge was specifically attributed to fast-moving consumer goods, electronics and fashion goods. DXB ranked 18th on Air Cargo Next ’s top 50 cargo airports list, while DWC did not make the list, which catalogs the top 50 cargo airports in the world based on cargo throughput. This bump in cargo could be partially attributable to the usual peak seen ahead of the Lunar New Year, which was celebrated Feb. 10. The increase in traffic could also be due to a long-anticipated airfreight bump resulting from maritime shipping challenges, specifically the ongoing Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. “We saw a relatively strong January from a volume perspective,” Xeneta Chief Airfreight Officer Niall van de Wouw said in a Feb. 1 release. “It is likely linked to Red Sea disruption as well as the upcoming Lunar New Year and some indicators that the general cargo market is busier than expected.” Industry experts have been taking a wait-and-see approach on how the Lunar New Year and Red Sea disruptions will affect airfreight. “Airfreight will remain the No. 1 alternative [to] ocean freight, even though sea-air and rail freight are a good opportunity,” Arno Hausch , head of airfreight for Germany, Austria and Switzerland at Flexport , said during the company’s market update webinar on Jan. 23. “We will see after the Chinese New Year how big the impact will be from the Red Sea crisis.” Implementing new tech In addition to increased volume, dnata attributed the embargo to needing time to recover from a “system cutover.” Dnata did not respond to requests for more information about the cutover in Dubai. However, dnata has made several technological upgrades in the past year, including: Migrating its operations at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) to Hermes Logistics Technologies ’ latest cloud-based cargo management system, Hermes 5 Software as a Service, in October; Offering AI-based Cargo Eye and Assemble solutions from Singapore-based logistics technology solutions provider Speedcargo to Etihad Cargo at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) beginning in August; and Announcing in August that group brands dnata Logistics , Arabian Adventures , Alpha Flight Services and City Sightseeing switched their vehicles to run on a biofuel blend , a move expected to save 80 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. Dnata also showed off its newest ground support equipment at the Dubai Airshow in November. The ground handler exhibited its Kalmar TBL800e electric aircraft tractor, a towbar-less machine with a power output of 1000kW; and the TLD TPX100e electric narrowbody aircraft tractor, a towbar-less vehicle with the ability to push back aircraft up to 100 tonnes, according to dnata in a November release.

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