dnata said it has made a further step to reduce its carbon footprint by 50 per cent by 2030, by swapping airside diesel vehicles at Schiphol Airport for electric smart cars.
As a part of the ground handler’s eight-year green operations strategy, it has taken delivery of 15 electric smart cars, and will soon receive five more, replacing all airside diesel vehicles in its fleet at the airport.
The transition follows the installation of airside-based electric vehicle charging infrastructure at Schiphol, allowing dnata an “immediate shift to sustainable transport”.
The change means that more than 65 per cent of dnata’s 250 ground support equipment products are now electric or powered by solar energy in the Netherlands.
Jan van Anrooy, managing director of dnata in the Netherlands, said: “We are committed to investing in green equipment and infrastructure to maximise environmental efficiency across our operations.
“Through close collaboration with our partners, we have promptly leveraged the airport’s new infrastructure by replacing our entire car fleet.
“As a result, over two-thirds of our fleet now operates on electric power or solar energy.
“We will continue our efforts to further reduce our environmental footprint, contributing to dnata’s commitment to reduce global carbon emissions.”
dnata currently provides ground and cargo handling services to 37 airlines in Amsterdam with a team of 1,000, who handle 10,000 flights and move 550,000 tonnes of cargo annually.
The ground handler’s remaining legacy GSE is fuelled by 100 per cent hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) biofuel, resulting in a 90 per cent reduction in total carbon dioxide emissions throughout its lifecycle, according to the company.
A spokesperson for Schiphol Airport told Airside: “We are fully committed to driving on electricity and certainly welcome dnata’s move to switch all its airside vehicles to electric smart cars.
Vehicles that run on fossil fuels are going to be gradually phased out at Schiphol over the coming years. For example, basically all our gate to plane busses are electric.
An increasing number of baggage tractors, scissor lifts, loading platforms and hotel shuttles are electric too.”
Image credit: dnata
