dnata is set to expand its European footprint with the planned acquisition of German cargo terminal operator Wisskirchen Handling Services.
The Dubai-based airside services provider said it has executed agreements with the owner of Wisskirchen, Oliver Hellwig, to acquire 100 percent of the shares in the company.
Wisskirchen is the exclusive operator of the Cologne Bonn Cargo Centre, a 12,000-sqm facility at Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) that handles more than 85,000 tonnes of cargo annually, including general cargo, perishables, pharmaceuticals, dangerous goods, electronics and fast moving consumer goods.
Stewart Angus, dnata’s regional CEO for Europe, noted this is dnata’s first cargo investment in Germany, part of a continued broader investment in cargo infrastructure.
“Since 2014 we have invested in nine new cargo facilities in Europe. We look forward to playing our role in the next stage of development of Cologne/Bonn Airport as a major cargo hub and I would like to thank Oliver Hellwig for his professionalism during this process.”
CGN is the third largest airport in Germany in terms of cargo operations, operating 24 hours a day with excellent road connections at the heart of Northwest Europe. The airport saw a new annual record for cargo handled in 2021, up 14 percent year over year.
Across Europe, dnata has made significant investments in advanced infrastructure to enhance its cargo offering, which include state-of-the-art cargo facilities in Manchester (MAN) and additional cargo capacity and infrastructure in Brussels (BRU).
Most recently, the company announced it would invest over €200 million in its operations in Amsterdam and operate one of the world’s largest and most advanced cargo facilities at Schiphol Airport (AMS).
This spring, dnata is scheduled to open the second phase of the dnata City East project at London Heathrow (LHR) in the United Kingdom.
dnata and Wisskirchen have agreed not to disclose further details of the announced transaction. The acquisition is subject to approval by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action in Germany.
