Dnata to convert its vehicles and equipment to electric in sustainability push

Company said the move will reduce general and operational costs

Dubai-based dnata is a provider of aircraft ground handling, cargo, travel and flight catering services across five continents. Reem Mohammed / The National

Dnata, the airlines services arm of Emirates airlines, said it plans to replace all of its vehicles, diesel units and ground support equipment with electric ones to become carbon neutral.

The move will also reduce “general cost and maintenance cost”, Dubai-based dnata, which is a provider of aircraft ground handling, cargo, travel and flight catering services across five continents, said.

“Reducing the carbon footprint is a key target for dnata as a world-leading air and travel services provider at 129 airports … we are looking into electric options as we are pushing all airports we manage to a sustainability environment,” Raed Younes, vice president for UAE and regional business development at dnata, said.

The company has about 30,000 pieces of equipment, such as motorised and non-motorised trolleys, 124 hybrid cars and thousands of tractors in Dubai. Dnata has started replacing them with electric machines and is also exploring options to convert the heavy duty tractors with electric units, it said.

However, the company did not say when it aims to achieve this by.

In January, dnata said it will invest $223 million in a fully automated cargo centre at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport amid a continued boom in the global air freight market.

“We are trying to promote sustainability just to make sure that it is a greener world, and trying to give back to the society by reducing carbon emission and maintenance,” the company said.

The global aviation sector has increasingly come under the spotlight as countries strive to curb emissions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

In September, 60 companies in the aviation sector pledged to increase the share of sustainable aviation fuels in the industry to 10 per cent by 2030, to help the world reach the Paris Agreement goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.