Dnata cargo traffic Dnata Cargo registered a throughput of 167,076 tonnes handled in the first half of the 2002 fiscal year starting April.

This is a 23 per cent rise on the same period of 2001, the cargo handler said in a statement. Exports at the end of September accounted for 66,945 tonnes while imports registered 100,131 tonnes.

Transit cargo registered in the half year amounted to 12,320 tonnes, a 73.4 per cent increase over 2001, caused mainly by a surge in cargo feeder activities from the Indian Subcontinent to Dubai for onward connection to Europe and the USA.

That total tonnage figure includes shipments at the main cargo terminal in Dubai Air Cargo Village and the terminals in the Dubai Airport and Jebel Ali Free Zones, all operated by Dnata Cargo. Emirates SkyCargo took over self-handling at its Dubai hub in April of 2002.

The year 2002 had a number of milestones for Dnata Cargo. A decision was taken to have the first phase of Chameleon, a new-generation cargo-handling system, implemented by year's end. The company has also completed the installation of radio frequency equipment across the airport and is expanding the Free Zone Logistics Centre (FLC) in the Dubai Airport Free Zone to double its original size.

MAS Cargo, UPS and DHL Worldwide Express have all come on board as FLC customers this year.