Dubai’s dnata invests A$50m for inflight catering expansion in Australia

Melbourne: Emirates Group's dnata, which provides airport and travel services in over 30 countries, announced Tuesday it has made an A$50 million investment to strengthen the company’s position as Australia’s leading inflight caterer.

The expansion makes dnata’s facility the largest airline catering centre in Victoria, Melbourne, with the capacity to produce 25 million meals annually, dnata’s Catering and Retail division explained in a statement.

It explained that the project will add 5,700m² to dnata’s existing facility, increasing its total footprint to over 16,000m². “Construction is already underway, with the newly built area scheduled to become operational in September 2026,” it said.

dnata currently serves 20 airline customers with a team of 1,000 highly-trained employees in Melbourne, contributing to the onboard dining experience on over 60,000 flights annually.

Hiranjan Aloysius, dnata Catering and Retail’s Regional CEO for Asia Pacific said, “This significant expansion of our Melbourne facility is an important step in our ongoing growth journey, enabling us to meet the rapidly increasing demand for our quality services.”

Aloysius said, “It will also contribute to our efforts to support the local economy and communities by creating new jobs and stimulating growth in associated sectors. We will continue to invest in our highly trained team, infrastructure and equipment to deliver outstanding meals and retail offerings that passengers love.”

dnata’s Melbourne expansion highlights its growing presence in Australia. The company’s planned A$80 million investment in infrastructure will create over 300 direct jobs over the next three years. In 2024 alone, dnata said it had invested more than A$200 million in products sourced from local Australian suppliers.

Jai McDermott, Melbourne Airport Chief of Ground Transport, Property and Retail, said, “This project, and its interface with airside operations, will streamline dnata’s ways of working here at Melbourne Airport, and will ensure that as Melbourne Airport grows, so too will dnata.

“This project will lay the foundation for dnata to accommodate new customers and support the long-term growth of existing airlines, especially as Melbourne Airport expands to construct a third runway.”

dnata currently provides catering and retail services in Australia to over 40 airline customers at nine airports with a team of more than 4,000 hospitality professionals. In the financial year 2023-24, dnata Catering and Retail’s teams uplifted over 50 million meals nationwide for over 300,000 flights.