Air services provider, Dnata, has opened its new 6,300m² catering unit in Dublin, a facility which quadruples its catering capacity in the Irish capital, enabling the company to deliver 40,000 inflight meals a day for customers. The expansion was driven by an agreement with Aer Lingus to provide inflight catering services to the airline at Dublin, Shannon, Cork and Belfast.
The existing facility served six airlines, and the expansion will enable Dnata to offer services to more carriers. The new facility is located in the Dublin Airport Logistics Park, close to the existing operation. According to Dnata, the building is equipped with the latest technologies and has a capacity of over 30,000 meals a day.
Dnata’s multi-million Euro investment in Ireland in 2020 has spanned construction, facility fit-out, vehicles and staff training. In addition to its newest unit in Dublin, the company expects to complete the fit-out of a brand new facility in Shannon soon, and to further enhance its operations in Cork.
Over the past 12 months Dnata has also invested “significantly” in specialist catering equipment manufactured in Dungannon, Northern Ireland, purchasing more than 60 vehicles which are now in use across its global catering network.
Robin Padgett, Dnata’s divisional SVP for catering said, “It is great to be operational at our new, ultramodern catering centre, the 65th production facility in our global network. Despite the impact of Covid-19, our team and our partners have managed to deliver a quality operation on budget, as planned. We look forward to serving more customers in Dublin, both in the air and on the ground, with a team of highly experienced culinary professionals.”
