Schiphol extends dnata's cargo ground handling license

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has re-awarded dnata with a ground handling license covering cargo and passenger operations for the next seven years following a competitive public tender. The ground handler has been providing passenger, baggage, ramp and cargo services to international carriers and specialist operators at Schiphol for more than a decade. Currently, dnata supports more than 20 passenger and cargo airlines at Schiphol, with a team of over 1,200 employees handling approximately 500,000 tonnes of cargo and around 16,000 flights each year. Thiemo van Spellen, managing director, dnata Netherlands, said: "We are proud to continue our ground handling operations at Amsterdam Schiphol. "This award reflects the trust placed in our people, our operational capabilities and our commitment to delivering safe, reliable and consistent services for airlines and passengers. "Schiphol is a critical hub in European aviation, and this is an important moment for the airport's ground handling community. We look forward to continuing our close collaboration with Schiphol, our airline customers, employees, unions and industry partners as the airport enters its next phase. "Together, we remain focused on supporting smooth operations, high service standards and a resilient operating environment." Having secured the seven-year license, dnata said it was well positioned build on its existing operations at Schiphol, deepen customer partnerships and pursue new growth opportunities. This includes dnata Cargo City Amsterdam, which has an annual capacity of 600,000 tonnes. The facility forms part of dnata's long-term plans at Schiphol, alongside continued investment in ground support equipment, environmental management and customer partnerships.

Airfreight demand up 6% in May as transpac fuels growth

Rapid demand improvements on the transpacific trade lane helped boost cargo volumes in May, while macroeconomic indicators suggest a positive outlook for the remainder of the year. The latest figures from airline association IATA show that air cargo demand in tonne km terms (CTK) increased by 6% year on year in May. For the year to date, cargo volumes are up 4.1% on last year's levels. Meanwhile, capacity in May grew at the lower rate of 1.9% compared with a year earlier, resulting in a 1.8 percentage point improvement in the load factor to 46.3%. Looking at which trade lanes led the growth, volumes from Asia to North America, which is the world's largest trade lane, increased by 23.5% year on year. Asia to Europe registered a 10% improvement. These trade lanes continue to be boosted by high-value cargo, such as data centre equipment and computer chips. Meanwhile, e-commerce growth has returned to the US in recent months following the ending of its duty-free allowance for small packages in 2025. "The Asia-North America corridor was the strongest performing major trade lane," IATA said. "Demand growth accelerated sharply and reached the highest pace among major corridors, highlighting the persisting importance of transpacific manufacturing and ecommerce flows. "Europe-Asia maintained a long-running expansion trend, although momentum moderated from exceptionally strong levels. Intra-Asian traffic also continued to grow, supported by regional production networks and supply-chain integration." In contrast, Middle East-Asia volumes were down 16.5% and Middle East-Europe volumes declined 19.8% as a result of the conflict in the region. Looking ahead, the airline association was positive for the remainder of 2026, despite recently downgrading its volume outlook. IATA director general Willie Walsh said: "May's strong performance coupled with macro-economic factors gives cautious optimism for air cargo's prospects over the remainder of the year. "Trade and manufacturing output are both growing. Airlines have adapted operations to align with shifting demand patterns and supply chain needs. "Meanwhile, yield growth and higher load factors are helping to recoup higher fuel costs. It's still a tough year, particularly as Middle East uncertainties weigh heavily on parts of the industry, but robust demand and airline resilience are clear." IATA pointed out that jet fuel prices fell by 16.3% month-on-month in May but remained 93.5% above year-earlier levels. Meanwhile, the Global Manufacturing Output Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 53.5, while the New Export Orders Index stayed below the 50-mark at 49.6, suggesting air cargo growth was supported by selected trade flows rather than a broad-based rise in global exports.

'Kudos to Mærsk'

As cash-rich AP Møller-Mærsk (APMM) continues to deliver, banking on heightened geopolitical risk "and flawless execution", trade sources in our circles have been "quite impressed" by key recent appointments in logistics as well as financial discipline at group level. New guidance out It is a similar playbook for APMM drawing from the past few years, "but different this time". Now take the crystal-ball update from... Two years ago And rewind to 3 June 2024, when APMM noted: "On the back of continued strong container market demand ...