dnata, a leading global air and travel services provider, has safely transported over 6,500 animals through its advanced Animal Care and Inspection Centre (ACIC) at Brussels Airport (BRU) during 2023-24.
The ACIC, a state-of-the-art 2,000m² facility, is dedicated to the safe handling of live animals at BRU. It was awarded the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) certification for its industry-leading live animal handling processes in 2022.
Stef van Binst, Managing Director of dnata Belgium, stated: “We are proud to provide globally recognized, safe, and reliable live animal handling services at Brussels, consistently delivering best-in-class services to our customers and owners who are naturally anxious about their pet’s wellbeing while traveling. In close cooperation with our partners and authorities, we will continue to invest in our operations and world-class facilities to ensure travel comfort for our animal guests.”
Pet Welfare is Top Priority
As household pets arrive at the ACIC for export six to eight hours ahead of planned departure, dnata’s team of handlers begins preparations for the animals’ safe transportation. Highly trained professionals meticulously review paperwork, including proof of any required vaccinations based on the destination and animal type, before completing an IATA checklist and performing all security checks. The pets are then accommodated in comfortable ACIC stays with adjustable temperature and light controls to ensure their comfort. Dogs are regularly walked in the special export garden, including immediately before departure to the aircraft, while cats are provided with a litter box. A vet is on hand if any animal shows symptoms of distress, and team members remain with the pets until loading into the aircraft is complete.
dnata’s top animal handling team is highly trained to ensure the comfort and safety of all animals, including domestic pets. All staff are fully educated and updated in IATA’s Live Animals Regulations (LAR), the essential standard for transporting animals safely and humanely, which is applied to all shipments. Staff are also trained to build crates or boxes for larger animals, depending on the type of aircraft and airline customer’s requirements.
Complying with Regulations
Working alongside Brussels Airport and the local Federal Agency for Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC), dnata’s team diligently follows all regulations, including implementing the two-hour transit time limit between ACIC and aircraft to ensure imported pets remain calm and comfortable.
Dogs are predictably the most popular pets handled at dnata’s ACIC facility, with over 1,000 canines safely passing through in 2023-24, more than half of which were police dogs heading overseas. Pet fish are also frequent visitors, with over 4,000 boxes of different species imported. Tarantula spiders and various reptiles, including lizards, snakes, and geckos, are also delicately handled.
dnata currently provides service excellence at Brussels Airport with a team of 140 highly trained aviation professionals, handling over 100,000 tonnes of cargo annually.
Established in 1959, dnata offers quality and safe ground handling, cargo, travel, catering, and retail services in over 30 countries across six continents. In the financial year 2023-24, dnata’s customer-oriented teams handled over 778,000 aircraft turns, moved over 2.9 million tonnes of cargo, uplifted 123 million meals, and recorded a total transaction value (TTV) of travel services of US$2.4 billion.