Ground handler dnata is expanding its fleet at Rome Fiumicino Airport with four fully electric apron buses from manufacturer Cobus. The VEGA-model vehicles are due to enter service by mid-November and will carry passengers between terminals and aircraft. dnata, an international ground handling service provider, says it will be the first handler to deploy the new model.
Vehicles designed for apron duty
The buses were developed specifically for use on airport aprons. dnata states that they offer a higher passenger capacity than conventional airport buses, and that redesigned doors should speed up boarding and alighting. Improved air conditioning is cited as a further comfort gain. The company has not disclosed battery capacity, range or charging power, so the vehicles' energy use cannot be compared with other airport buses on published figures.
Fleet at Fiumicino grows beyond 40 vehicles
With the four new vehicles, the bus fleet at Fiumicino will grow beyond its current 40 units, of which 23 are already electrically powered. On the figures given, electric buses would then account for 27 of a fleet of just over 40. dnata says the new vehicles are intended to make apron handling more efficient and to keep aircraft turnaround times as short as possible; these are the company's stated aims for the deployment rather than measured outcomes.
Part of a three-year modernisation programme
The purchase is part of a comprehensive modernisation programme in which dnata has invested more than €30 million over the past three years. During that period more than 550 new ground handling equipment units were acquired at Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa and Milan Linate, including passenger buses as well as baggage tractors, conveyor belts, passenger stairs, aircraft loaders and pushback tractors.
In total, dnata operates more than 1,000 motorised ground handling equipment units at the three Italian airports, and more than 60 per cent of these are now electrically powered. Where full electrification is not yet operationally feasible, the company is gradually converting diesel-powered equipment to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).
Charging infrastructure as a limiting factor
According to dnata, further electrification also depends on the expansion of charging infrastructure at the airports, and the company says it is working with the respective airport operators to achieve this. Electrification of the remaining equipment therefore rests partly on infrastructure decisions taken outside the handler.
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 annually.