Dnata plans to introduce four battery-electric apron buses at Rome Fiumicino Airport, adding Cobus VEGA models to its ground-handling fleet as it continues to electrify operations in Italy. The vehicles are scheduled to begin carrying passengers between terminals and aircraft in mid-November, according to the company.
Dnata said it will be the first ground handler to put the VEGA model into service. The buses are designed for use on airport aprons and for passenger transfers between terminals and aircraft rather than for public roads.
Designed for apron transfers
According to dnata, the VEGA buses can carry more passengers than conventional airport buses. Redesigned doors are meant to make boarding and disembarking faster, while improved air-conditioning is intended to raise passenger comfort during transfers. The company did not release battery capacity, range or charging-power figures.
The four vehicles will increase the bus fleet at Fiumicino beyond its current 40 units. Twenty-three of those buses are already electric. Dnata expects the new buses to support more efficient apron handling and help keep aircraft turnaround times as short as possible. The company has not quantified the expected effect on turnaround times or published operating data for the new buses.
Part of a wider fleet renewal
The purchase sits within a modernisation programme through which dnata has invested more than €30 million over the past three years. In that period, the company acquired more than 550 new ground-handling equipment units across Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa and Milan Linate. The equipment includes passenger buses as well as baggage tractors, conveyor belts, passenger stairs, aircraft loaders and pushback tractors.
Dnata now operates more than 1,000 motorised ground-handling units at the three Italian airports, with more than 60% powered by electricity. Where full electrification is not yet operationally practical, the company is gradually switching diesel equipment to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).
Charging infrastructure remains a condition
According to dnata, further electrification will depend on expanding charging infrastructure at the airports. The company says it is working with the relevant airport operators on that requirement.
The deployment also shows the incremental nature of ground-support electrification. Dnata is adding electric buses while continuing to operate a mixed bus fleet at Fiumicino and using HVO as a transitional fuel for diesel equipment where battery-electric operation is not yet feasible. It has not said how the four new buses will be charged.
In Italy, dnata employs around 5,000 people and serves more than 60 airlines. Across its three locations, it handles more than 150,000 flights, 46 million passengers and nearly 18 million pieces of baggage each year.