Dnata’s perishable cargo facility at Dallas Fort Worth starts operations

March 6, 2018: dnata has officially opened its cargo centre at Dallas (DFW) airport that also includes the only dedicated cool-chain perishable cargo facility. Following the recent acquisition of a cargo facility in Houston, dnata’s 37,000 square feet state-of-the-art cargo handling centre is suitable for all perishable products.

Developed as a part of its agreement with AirLogistix USA which it acquired last year, dnata has opened the facility in cooperation with the Dallas Airport Authority. 18,000 square feet of the facility is dedicated to innovative cool-chain solutions with experienced staff to ensure that perishables such as pharmaceuticals, fruits, vegetables, fresh fish and seafood, meat and flowers maintain their freshness during the entire air transportation process. Having received the IATA's CEIV accreditation, Japan Airlines was the first launch customer to experience the state-of-the-art facility from 1 November 2017, informed the Dubai-based air services provider.

Cool-chain services ensure perishables are delivered to customers in good condition despite challenging temperatures; cargo such as fresh flowers from Bogota or fish from Chile headed to various US destinations.

“We realised that it was not only important for us to build a modern cool-chain facility to meet our long term objectives, but to also go the extra mile and ensure the compliance of our operations against the highest international standards. There is a clear need to increase capacity and ensure our customers have the flexibility that meets their specific needs via our cool-chain solutions,” said David Barker, CEO, dnata USA.

Meanwhile John Ackerman, executive vice president global strategy and development at DFW said, “We are excited dnata Cargo USA’s cold chain facility is open and operating at DFW and offers cooling and pre-cooling, perishables warehousing, temperature-controlled fumigation services, and more, to our cargo and logistics customers.”

“Shippers in many trade lanes between Latin America and Asia with perishables like salmon, berries, and asparagus, can save as much as two days by using DFW over other airports. DFW’s strength lies in its airline network of passenger service with daily belly cargo capacity between Latin America and Asia combined with our excellent freighter services to Asia by nine Asian air freighter operators,” Ackerman added.

dnata has continued to significantly expand its global cargo offering, including the opening of 18 new cargo facilities in the past five years. With the investments in Houston and Dallas Fort Worth, dnata now handles over 2.8 million tonnes of cargo at 43 airports worldwide. dnata USA operates in 18 airports and 13 postal facilities.