Manchester Airport’s cargo operations sold to Dubai
Manchester Airport's current cargo operator Go-Ahead Group has sold parts of its business to Dnata, Dubai government's investment arm.
The Go-Ahead Group confirmed the £15m deal to the investment corporation of Dubai, which is an investment vehicle and holds the Emirates airline and stakes in Dubai banks and utilities.
Go-Ahead said Dnata was buying 100% of its Plane Handling business which consists of cargo operations at Heathrow and Manchester and ground handling operations at Heathrow Terminal 3.
It also said its ground handling business is being sold, which runs operations at eleven UK airports including Manchester, to Servisair, based in France.
A small number of activities at Heathrow are being retained by Go-Ahead as well as its parking business Meteor.
Keith Ludeman, group chief executive of Go-Ahead, said: "We are pleased to be selling these operations to two highly respected companies whose core businesses include aviation ground handling and cargo. We will be spending the next two months working closely with Dnata, Servisair and our customers and employees to maintain a high quality of service and ensure a smooth transition at the end of January. This announcement marks another important step in delivering the Group's strategy which focuses on growing our core bus and rail operations."
