Dnata is deploying four new electric buses at the airport in Rome.

Dnata’s ground handling service is expanding its fleet at Rome Fiumicino Airport with four electric buses from manufacturer Cobus. The vehicles are set to transport passengers between terminals and aircraft starting in mid-November.

Already 23 of dnata’s 40 passenger buses at Rome Fiumicino Airport run on electricity.

Image: dnata

The international ground handling service provider dnata continues to invest in electrifying its fleet in Italy. By mid-November, four fully electric VEGA model buses from Cobus are set to be operational at Rome-Fiumicino Airport. According to the company, dnata will be the first ground handler to use this new model.

These electric buses were developed specifically for use in airport terminals and are intended to transport passengers between terminals and aircraft. According to dnata, they offer a higher passenger capacity than conventional airport buses. Revised doors are designed to speed up boarding and alighting, while improved air conditioning enhances comfort. The company does not provide details on battery capacity, range, or charging speed.

With these four new additions, the bus fleet at Fiumicino Airport exceeds its previous count of 40 vehicles. Of these, 23 are already electrically powered. The new vehicles are intended to make handling operations at the apron more efficient and keep aircraft on the ground for as short a time as possible.

Over 60 percent of the fleet is electric

The purchase is part of a comprehensive modernization program into which dnata has invested over 30 million euros in the past three years. More than 550 new ground handling equipment units have been acquired at the Rome-Fiumicino, Milan-Malpensa, and Milan-Linate airports during this period. These include, in addition to passenger buses, baggage tractors, conveyor belts, passenger stairs, aircraft loaders, and pushback tractors.

In total, dnata operates more than 1,000 motorized ground handling equipment units at these three Italian airports. Over 60 percent of them are now electrically powered. Where full electrification is not yet feasible operationally, the company is gradually replacing diesel-powered equipment with those running on hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO).

Further electrification also depends, according to dnata, on the development of charging infrastructure at airports. The company works together with the respective airport operators to achieve this. In Italy, dnata employs around 5,000 people and serves more than 60 airlines. At its three locations, the company handles over 150,000 flights, 46 million passengers, and nearly 18 million pieces of baggage each year.