dnata announced that it handles up to 42,000 tonnes of flowers each year from its advanced Amsterdam cargo facilities.

The global air and travel services provider noted that orchids, chrysanthemums, and roses are the most popular types of 27,000 tonnes of flowers imported, arriving daily into the European continent from key source markets in East Africa and South America.

"One of the busiest times of the year is the two- to three-week window before Valentine's Day in February, with multiple freight aircraft arriving each day to supply Europe's love birds," dnata said.

Its Amsterdam facilities also manage the export of 15,000 tonnes of flowers annually, primarily the home-grown gerbera, gypsophila and peonies.

Jan van Anrooy, managing director, dnata Netherlands, noted the importance of understanding customers' requirements to ensure perishable items such as flowers preserve their freshness and longevity — maintaining the value of these sensitive cargoes.

"Our customer-oriented team and best-in-class facilities ensure that perishable cargo is processed quickly and efficiently throughout the transportation process," van Anrooy added.

Speed and temperature key

In order to maintain temperature control of flowers, dnata noted that speed of handling while limiting manhandling of the product is key, from unloading off the aircraft, into the facility and onto the trucks and freight forwarders.

It said that its teams could typically empty a full freighter aircraft of flowers, and load them on to forwarding trucks in around 90 minutes.

If required, dnata's cool chain facilities at its Amsterdam hub also provide cold storage to maintain freshness, before they are transported to market, auctioned and distributed throughout Europe.

Major investment in cargo operations

dnata said it currently provides ground and cargo handling services to 37 airlines at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) with a team of 1,000 dedicated aviation professionals, who handle 10,000 flights and move 540,000 tonnes of cargo annually.

In 2024 dnata will significantly enhance its operations in The Netherlands by opening a fully automated cargo centre, dnata Cargo City Amsterdam at AMS.

"One of the largest and most advanced facilities of its kind, including certifications for sustainability and eco-friendly design, the 61,000 m2 facility will use cutting-edge technologies and be capable of processing over 850,000 tonnes of cargo annually," it said, noting that this will include perishables, pharmaceuticals, dangerous goods, mail, live animals, aircraft engines and vehicles.

dnata said its Amsterdam facilities are certified by IATA's Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma) and certification for Good Distribution Practice (GDP).

"These certifications demonstrate dnata's dedication to good distributive practices and quality in every aspect of service delivery," dnata said.