DHL International Aviation ME (legally incorporated as DHL Aviation EEMEA B.S.C. (C) and sometimes branded as SNAS/DHL) is a

cargo airline Cargo airlines (or air freight carriers, and derivatives of these names) are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of air cargo, cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines. In 2018, airli ...

based in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. It employs 265 workers to dispatch, fly and maintain a fleet of

Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified ...

freighters operating under a Bahraini AOC. DHL International is the central platform for DHL Air Network Operations in the Middle East. It is wholly owned by

Deutsche Post (, ) is a brand of the DHL Group (listed as ), used for its domestic mail services in Germany. The services offered under the brand are those of a traditional mail service, making the brand the successor of the former state-owned mail monopoly ...

and operates the group's ''

DHL DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational Import-Export Expert Company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It provides courier, package delivery, and express mail service, ...

''-branded parcel and express services in the Middle East and North Africa as part of DHL Aviation. Its main base is

Bahrain International Airport Bahrain International Airport (, romanized: ''Maṭār al-Baḥrayn al-dwalī'') is the international airport of Bahrain. Located on Muharraq Island, adjacent to the capital Manama and the city of Muharraq, it serves as the hub for the nation ...

History

The airline began dedicated cargo flights between Bahrain and Riyadh in 1979 with a Fokker F27 Friendship. In 1980, with demand for a reliable overnight service increasing, the Fairchild Metro were introduced. With its fast cruising speed of 250 knots, this aircraft proved to be ideal for this type of service and destinations soon expanded to include Dubai, Kuwait and Jeddah. In 2004, larger jet aircraft were introduced with the deployment of 6

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavier Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter ...

s. The Middle East is today connected into DHL's network via dedicated long haul flights from the US, Europe and Asia.

Destinations

Fleet

Current fleet

As of August 2023, the DHL International fleet consists of the following aircraft:

Former fleet

DHL International formerly operated the following aircraft: * Boeing 727-200F * Boeing 757-200PCF * Boeing 757-200SF * Boeing 767-200BDSF * Convair CV-540 * Fairchild Metro 23 * Fairchild Metro III * Fokker F27 Friendship

Accidents and incidents

* 2002 Überlingen mid-air collision: On July 1, 2002, DHL Flight 611, a Boeing 757-200PF (registered as A9C-DHL) was flying from Bergamo, Italy, to Brussels, Belgium. The aircraft was flying over southern Germany when it collided with a BAL Bashkirian Airlines Tupolev Tu-154M on a charter flight from Moscow, Russia to Barcelona, Spain, over the city of

Überlingen Überlingen (; ) is a German city on the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Baden-Württemberg near the German-Swiss border, border with Switzerland. After the city of Friedrichshafen, it is the second-largest city in the Bodenseek ...

near the German-Swiss border. The DHL plane's tail slammed into the fuselage of the Tu-154. The collision killed the 2 crew members on board the Boeing 757, and all 69 passengers and crew on the Tupolev, mostly Russian schoolchildren from

Bashkortostan Bashkortostan, officially the Republic of Bashkortostan, sometimes also called Bashkiria, is a republic of Russia between the Volga river and the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. The republic borders Perm Krai to the north, Sverdlovsk Oblast ...

on a vacation, organized by the local

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

committee, to the Costa Dorada region of Spain.

References

External links

{{DHL Aviation Airlines of Bahrain Cargo airlines of Bahrain Airlines established in 1979 DHL Bahraini companies established in 1979