Dnata is expanding its ground-handling fleet at Rome Fiumicino Airport with four electric apron buses supplied by Cobus. The vehicles, which are fully electric VEGA models, are set to enter service by mid-November and will carry passengers between terminals and aircraft.
Dnata says it will be the first ground handler to deploy the new model. Cobus developed the buses specifically for airport apron work, where they will shuttle passengers between terminal buildings and aircraft stands.
According to dnata, the VEGA buses offer higher passenger capacity than conventional airport buses. Redesigned doors are intended to speed up boarding and alighting, while improved air conditioning is meant to raise passenger comfort. Dnata has not disclosed battery capacity, range or charging power for the vehicles.
The four additions will take the bus fleet at Fiumicino beyond its current 40 vehicles. Of those, 23 are already electrically powered. Dnata says the new buses are intended to make apron handling more efficient and help keep aircraft turnaround times as short as possible.
The purchase forms part of a wider modernisation programme in which dnata has invested more than €30 million over the past three years. During that period, the company acquired more than 550 new ground-handling equipment units at Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa and Milan Linate airports. The equipment includes passenger buses, baggage tractors, conveyor belts, passenger stairs, aircraft loaders and pushback tractors.
Across the three Italian airports, dnata operates more than 1,000 motorised ground-handling equipment units. More than 60 per cent of them are now electrically powered. Where full electrification is not yet operationally feasible, dnata is gradually converting diesel-powered equipment to run on hydrotreated vegetable oil, or HVO.
Dnata says further electrification also depends on expanding charging infrastructure at the airports, and the company is working with the respective airport operators on that effort. In Italy, dnata employs around 5,000 people and serves more than 60 airlines. At its three locations, it handles over 150,000 flights, 46 million passengers and nearly 18 million pieces of baggage annually.
The deployment reflects a two-track approach by dnata in Italy: battery-electric equipment where operations and charging allow, and HVO conversion for diesel units where full electrification is not yet feasible. The company presents charging infrastructure as a limiting factor for the next phase, with airport operators expected to play a role in expanding capacity.
The four buses are therefore a small but visible part of a larger fleet renewal. Dnata's Italian operation covers three airports and a broad equipment base, and the company says it is pursuing electrification alongside HVO conversion rather than relying on a single technology.