Dnata has won a contract from Virgin Atlantic to handle cargo for Virgin Australia’s flights from Brisbane and Sydney to Los Angeles, as well as its flights from Sydney to Abu Dhabi.

Virgin Atlantic Cargo manages all long haul international cargo capacity for Virgin Australia, generating 18,000 tonnes of freight for the airline in 2014. Under the contract, Virgin Atlantic’s Australia cargo team will relocate to the dnata cargo terminal at Sydney Airport.

“With the growth in business we are generating for Virgin Australia, as well as our own on forwarding traffic to and from Australia that connects with our network over Los Angeles, it is important that we ensure our customers receive the highest levels of service,” said Neil Vernon, vice president of international sales at Virgin Atlantic. “Dnata is an established and proven partner to Virgin Atlantic in the UK and we are confident they will meet our high expectations in Australia. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Qantas for all of their support in the past.”

Virgin Australia flies daily from Brisbane and Sydney to Los Angeles with Boeing 777-300ERs, and three times weekly from Sydney to Abu Dhabi, also with a Boeing 777-300ER.