DUBAI / GULF TIME
Air Dispatch, part of dnata and the world’s leading supplier of centralised load control (CLC) services, has celebrated the production of its seven millionth loadsheet. The milestone document was issued from the Prague facility, ensuring safe and efficient operations of a Titan Airways’ Airbus A330-300 P2F cargo flight which the airline operates on behalf of global forwarder Geodis.
Air Dispatch has been offering quality and reliable CLC services to both legacy and new generation carriers since 2007. It calculates the weight and balance conditions for aircraft prior to flight, securing greater productivity and profitability for its airline customers.
Air Dispatch’s CLC unit coordinates with stakeholders at all stages of the operations and provides 24-hour support for weight and balance issues. The timeline for a cargo flight varies and is often spread out over many hours. Cargo handlers, such as dnata, need to understand the maximum weight and specific pallet combinations many hours before the departure of the flights so that they can build the payload in the most effective way, ensuring compliance with the balance requirements of the aircraft operating the flight. The load planning takes place before the Loadmaster arrives at the airport, freeing them up for the safety critical role of coordinating and supervising the loading. A CLC unit can also coordinate transit loads well before the aircraft arrives, allowing for efficient turnarounds and improved on-time performance.
Every month, Air Dispatch’s 170 highly-trained aviation professionals produce over 60,000 loadsheets for 19 airlines operating from 392 airports across six continents and every time zone with an airport on the planet.
Nick Yeadon, CEO of Air Dispatch, said: “We are proud to celebrate our 7th million loadsheet with our highly-skilled team and long-standing customer, marking another remarkable milestone in our journey.
Air Dispatch operates three state-of-the-art centralised load control (CLC) centres, two in the Czech Republic, in Prague and Ostrava, and one in Poland, in Warsaw, utilising the customer’s preferred departure control system (DCS) solution.
The Air Dispatch brand is part of dnata. dnata offers ground handling, cargo, travel, catering and retail services in 38 countries across six continents. In the financial year 2021-22, dnata’s customer-oriented teams handled over 527,000 aircraft turns, moved 3 million tonnes of cargo, uplifted 39.9 million meals, and recorded a total transaction value (TTV) of travel services of US$ 632 million.
“With the increased adoption of the IATA Ground Operations Manual (IGOM), more and more cargo airlines are looking to CLC services as a way of complying with the newly required “four-eyes” principle for the production of weight and balance documentation. Using a CLC for the production of the loadsheet allows for early communications with the cargo warehouse, thus maximizing the payload and freeing up the Loadmasters’ time during the turnaround.
“We will continue to work hard to deliver world-class value for our customers through innovative and safe services.”
Greg Holland, Operations Director at Titan Airways, said: “Congratulations to Air Dispatch on this milestone. The Air Dispatch team, day in, day out provide our operation teams first-class support. The CLC team in Prague work proactively with our partners, from our freight forwarder client, through the warehouse and ground handling chain to ensure safe and on time departures while maximising the payload we carry. Additionally, the CLC provides reactive solutions to our Loadmasters when they are busy out on the ramp and encounter a need to replan, using the four eyes principle this enhances safety and allows our loadmasters to focus on load supervision.”
In addition to its core CLC expertise, the Air Dispatch also provides carriers with other value-added support services, including flight data warehousing and ULD (unit load device) tracking.