New fee for manual handling of baggage
Dnata introduces fee for ‘out of gauge’ bags at Dubai airport as per new contracts with airlines
Passengers flying out of Dubai International Airport will have to pay extra charges for baggage which requires manual handling, Gulf News can reveal.
A new fee has been introduced for manual handling of baggage that does not conform to the standard size and weight at Dubai International Airport.
It has been introduced by Dnata, which provides groundhandling service for airlines operating at Dubai Airport.
At least one airline, Air India, has said the fee is Dh45 per piece of such baggage but the fee may vary for other carriers depending on their contracts with Dnata. In a notification to travel agents, India’s national carrier explained in detail the types of baggage that will be charged because it is ‘out of gauge’.
Dnata confirmed the introduction of the new fee in a statement sent to Gulf News. “Dnata has updated its standard ground-handling terms and conditions with carriers, to cover the additional manual handling services for “out of gauge” baggage — a policy that is now being strictly enforced at Dubai International Airport,” it said.
Key difference
Aviation sources said ‘out of gauge (OOG)’ baggage is too large, too light, too heavy, too fragile, or not having a flat surface. It includes TVs, flat panel displays and baggage that can damage or slow down the baggage system.
“This is different from the excess baggage fee charged for carrying baggage above the allowance per ticket’s class,” said one source.
Sources said airlines operating to some Asian countries reportedly receive a higher quantity of OOG, ranging from blankets and broomsticks to huge TV sets. They said Dnata had to put in place additional infrastructure and manpower to handle OOG baggage which eventually forced the company to charge for the service of manual
handling of such baggage. Dnata said carriers may decide to ask Dnata to collect the associated charges directly from their passengers.
“It’s up to carriers to decide whether they want to pass on the cost or not and how they want the payment to be collected. Passengers should check their carrier’s website for further details.”
Sources said the fee will be charged from passengers of various airlines as and when the carriers’ contracts come up for renewal.
Dnata did not provide the charges it is taking from different airlines and added that it cannot comment on behalf of the carriers.
Since airlines operating to the same destinations have to renew their contracts at different times, passengers flying airlines that do the renewals early will be the ones to be affected first, sources said.