The Animal Care & Inspection Centre (ACIC), a leading 2000m² facility, is dedicated to the safe handling of live animals at BRU. The facility was awarded the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) for its industry-leading live animal handling processes, in 2022.

Stef van Binst, Managing Director, dnata Belgium, said: “We are proud to provide globally recognised, safe and reliable live animal handling services at Brussels, consistently delivering best-in-class services to our customers and owners who are naturally anxious of their pet’s wellbeing while travelling. In close cooperation with our partners and authorities, we will continue to invest in our operations and world-class facilities to ensure travel comfort for our animal guests.”

Pet welfare is top priority
As household pets arrive into the ACIC for export six to eight hours ahead of planned departure, dnata’s team of handlers begin preparations for the animal’s safe transportation. Highly trained professionals meticulously review paperwork, including proof of any required vaccinations based on the destination and animal type, before completing an IATA check list and performing all security checks. The pet will then be invited into the comfortable ACIC stays with adjustable temperature and light controls to ensure its comfort. Dogs will be regularly walked throughout their time in the special export garden, including immediately before departure to the aircraft. Cats will provided with a litter box in their stay while awaiting departure. A vet will be on hand if any animal shows symptoms of distress, and members of the team remain with the pets until loading into the aircraft is complete.

Importance of thorough training
dnata’s top animal handling team is highly trained to ensure the comfort and safety of all animals, including domestic pets. All staff are fully educated and updated in IATA’s Live Animals Regulations (LAR), the essential standard to transport animals in a safe and humane manner, and which is applied to all shipments.

Along with permits to drive various airside vehicles, staff are trained to build up crates or boxes for larger animals, depending on the type of aircraft and the airline customer’s requirements.

Complying with regulations
Working alongside Brussels Airport and the local Federal Agency for Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC), dnata’s team diligently follows all regulations including implementing the two-hour transit time limit between ACIC and aircraft to ensure imported pets remain calm and comfortable.

Most popular jet setting pets
Dogs are predictably the most popular pet to be handled at dnata’s ACIC facility, with over 1000 canines safely passing through in 2023-24, more than half of which were police dogs heading overseas. Pet fish are also very popular visitors, with over 4000 boxes of differing species imported. Tarantula spiders and various reptiles including lizards, snakes, and ghekkos are also delicately handled.

dnata currently provides service excellence at Brussels Airport with a team of 140 highly trained aviation professionals, handling over 100,000 tonnes of cargo annually.

dnata is a leading global air and travel services provider. Established in 1959, the company offers quality and safe ground handling, cargo, travel, catering and retail services in over 30 countries across six continents. In the financial year 2023-24, dnata’s customer-oriented teams handled over 778,000 aircraft turns, moved over 2.9 million tonnes of cargo, uplifted 123 million meals, and recorded a total transaction value (TTV) of travel services of US$ 2.4 billion

Upon implementation, EASA’s Regulation will establish a more standardised environment, which will help enhance safety, operational delivery, cybersecurity, and consistency within the region.

Until now, the ground handling industry has largely operated under self-regulation, with operational arrangements, including safety considerations, primarily addressed in bilateral service agreements between ground handling service providers and the respective aircraft operators.

EASA’s Regulation is scheduled for publication in late 2024 or early 2025. The proposal includes a suggested three-year transition period for implementation post-publication. dnata anticipates a smooth transition, proactively aligning its practices with the forthcoming regulatory framework.

dnata is a leading global air and travel services provider. Established in 1959, the company offers quality and safe ground handling, cargo, travel, catering and retail services in over 30 countries across six continents. In the financial year 2022-23, company’s customer-oriented teams handled over 710,000 aircraft turns, moved over 2.7 million tonnes of cargo, uplifted 111.4 million meals, and recorded a total transaction value (TTV) of travel services of US$ 1.9 billion.

Qatar Airways Cargo currently operates a mix of 15 freighter and passenger flights each week to and from the Belgian capital. In 2021, dnata handled 25% more cargo for the airline at BRU than in the previous year.   

Stef Vanbinst, Managing Director of dnata Belgium, said: “We are proud to have earned the trust and loyalty of Qatar Airways Cargo with our reliable and safe services. We continue to invest in our operations to consistently provide world-class quality to the airline and its customers.”

dnata entered the Belgian cargo market in 2019, substantially increasing cargo capacity in the Benelux states. Since then, it has more than doubled the size of its advanced cargo centre which now covers an area of 7,000 m². dnata has also been operating the Animal Care & Inspection Centre offering a top-notch, 2,000 m² facility for the handling of live animals at BRU.  

In addition to expanding its operations, dnata has invested in equipment and technologies, including an Elevating Transfer Vehicle (ETV) system.  In 2021 dnata handled 80,000 tonnes of cargo with a team of 120 highly trained employees in Brussels.  

In recent years, dnata has made significant investments in advanced infrastructure to enhance its cargo offering. This included the opening of new, state-of-the-art cargo facilities in London, Manchester (UK), Karachi and Lahore (Pakistan), and additional cargo capacity and infrastructure in Brussels (Belgium), Sydney (Australia) and Toronto (Canada). Most recently, dnata has announced that it would invest over €200 million in its operations in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and operate one of the world’s largest and most advanced cargo facilities at Schiphol Airport. 

As one of the world’s leading air services providers, dnata currently provides ground handling, cargo, catering and retail services at over 120 airports in 19 countries.

Stef Vanbinst, Managing Director of dnata Belgium, said: “We are proud to be globally recognised for delivering reliable and safe services at our Brussels hub. These certifications demonstrate our team’s ability to handle precious cargo under the strictest international standards, consistently providing best-in-class services to our customers.

“I thank each member of our team for their hard work and commitment to our robust quality and compliance program that ensures service excellence at every stage of the handling process. We continue to invest in our operations to exceed our customers’ expectations and cement our position as a leading cargo handler at Brussels Airport.”

Brendan Sullivan, IATA Global Head of Cargo, said: “The safe and efficient transportation of temperature sensitive Pharma products and live animals is a key priority for our industry. We congratulate dnata for achieving both CEIV Pharma and Live Animals certification at their Brussels hub. Shippers can enjoy additional reassurance that their facilities, equipment, operations and staff comply with all applicable standards, regulations and guidelines.”

Nathan De Valck, Head of Cargo Product and Network Development at Brussels Airport, said: “We are very glad to add dnata to our local community of CEIV Pharma certified partners. As the first and largest airport community in the world with CEIV Pharma certified stakeholders, this certification of dnata further strengthens our position as preferred EU pharma gateway and increases the guarantee of qualitative handling of time and temperature sensitive cargo throughout the entire air cargo chain.”

dnata opened its state-of-the-art cargo centre at Brussels Airport (BRU) in 2019, substantially increasing cargo capacity in the Benelux states. The company has been also operating the Animal Care & Inspection Centre offering a top-notch, 2000 m² facility for the handling of live animals at BRU. dnata currently provides cargo services with a team of 120 highly trained employees in the Belgian capital.

The CEIV Pharma program was created by IATA to provide a globally consistent and recognized pharmaceutical product handling certification that focuses on airfreight and temporary storage. The stringent standards set by CEIV Pharma and the rigorous assessments conducted either meet or exceed many of the current worldwide regulations.

dnata’s global commitment to providing best-in-class pharma handling services is underlined by the CEIV Pharma certification of its Amsterdam, Brussels, Dallas, Dubai, Singapore and Toronto cargo centres, as well the GDP certification of its Amsterdam, Brussels, Karachi, London, Manchester, Melbourne, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto and Zurich facilities.

Driven by industry standards, IATA’s CEIV Live Animals Logistics establishes baseline standards to improve the level of competency, infrastructure and quality management in the handling and transportation of live animals throughout the supply chain.

As one of the world’s leading air services providers, dnata provides quality and reliable ground handling, cargo, catering and retail services at over 120 airports in 14 countries.

In his new role, Stewart will lead dnata’s airport operations at 23 airports in 6 countries across the continent, managing 6,300 highly-trained employees. Stewart will be based in the UK, and report to David Barker, dnata’s Divisional Senior Vice President for Airport Operations.

Stewart has over 20 years of experience in leading high-performing teams in the aviation industry. Most recently he was based in Dubai, UAE, overseeing dnata’s airport operations globally for 16 years. Stewart left dnata in the summer of 2021 to move to the UK for family reasons. Prior to joining dnata, he held various management roles at Emirates Airline and British Airways. Stewart’s appointment is effective 29 November 2021.

David Barker said: “We are thrilled to welcome Stewart back to our international management team. A widely recognised leader, Stewart made a significant contribution to dnata’s global expansion over the past two decades. He lives and breathes the dnata values and has the unique experience of building and running successful, customer-oriented businesses on an international level. I’m sure that our customers, teams and the company will benefit from his leadership across our European operations."

A trusted partner of over 300 airline customers, dnata provides quality and safe ground handling, cargo, catering and travel services in 35 countries. In the financial year 2020-21 dnata’s customer-oriented teams handled 290,000 aircraft, moved 2.7 million tons of cargo, and uplifted some 17 million meals.

The state-of-the-art facility includes 4,500 m² warehouse space and is capable of processing 125,000 tons of cargo annually. It is equipped with the latest technologies and complies with the highest industry standards ensuring efficient and safe handling of all types of cargo, including perishables, pharmaceuticals, dangerous goods, live animals, aircraft engines and vehicles.

dnata has been already providing cargo and ground handling services to 25 cargo and 8 passenger airlines at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. dnata will ensure a close cooperation between its Amsterdam and Brussels teams to leverage synergies and deliver the highest possible value for its customers at both airports. 

Erik de Goeij, Chief Executive Officer, dnata The Netherlands and Belgium, said: “We are thrilled to establish operations at another important cargo hub. Our best-in-class facility at Brussels Airport significantly increases our cargo handling capacity in the region, which we expect to stimulate the local cargo industry. We see solid demand for our quality services and are confident that this strategic expansion will bring significant benefits to our stakeholders.” 

“dnata is renowned for its customer-oriented approach, reliability and uncompromised focus on safety at all airports it operates across the globe. We all share a passion for excellence and will work hard to provide the best possible services to our Brussels customers, every day.”

“We are most pleased to welcome dnata at Brussels Airport as our third cargo handler”, said Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport Company. “dnata has already positioned itself as a key cargo player at our airport with a dedicated infrastructure for pharmaceuticals and an active participation in our cargo community Air Cargo Belgium, consistent with Brussels Airport’s strategy to provide specialised infrastructure for vital sectors in our country, and to work towards mutual goals through collaboration. And so, it is with positive expectations I look forward to this new partnership.”

dnata’s first customer in Brussels is Singapore Airlines, which operates eight weekly flights with an annual capacity of 45,000 tons of cargo between Brussels and Singapore, using the 747-400 F aircraft.

Including Brussels Airport, dnata now provides quality and safe ground handling and cargo services at 88 airports in 14 countries. Every day, dnata’s dedicated employees handle over 1,900 flights and move more than 9,000 tons of cargo.

--ENDS