DHL Express has merged its three regional aviation head offices for Eastern Europe, the Middle Eastand Africa into a new central base in Bahrain that was opened today.
The move entailed the operations of the Harare and Brussels-based aviation services centresbeing merged and relocated to Bahrain, to serve the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe(EEMEA) from one central base. Prior to July 2007, EEMEA Aviation functioned as three independentareas: Sub-Sahara Africa; Middle East; and Commonwealth of Independent States, Eastern Europe andNorth Africa (CISEENA).
DHL Regional Director for EEMEA Aviation, Mick McEwen said: “Due to the evolution and fastdevelopment of the aviation sector in the area, we saw it to be more effective to have Aviation runby one expanded senior management team in a single location. Bahrain has an excellent geographicallocation in close proximity to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Levant as well as the UAE, which is ofgreat benefit to our new centralised Aviation Office.
“The centralization will allow DHL Aviation EEMEA to focus more on the customers’ needs, withthe company able to react quicker to market demands with an in-depth concentration on CustomerOperations, Key Accounts and General Sales”, McEwen added.
In the EEMEA region, DHL operates 44 aircraft flying approximately 54,000 block hoursannually. It is a diversified and complex region with a large geographical area to service, whichrequires a viable mix of aircraft and flexibility in scheduling, the company pointed out.
The Middle East aviation network operates 16 aircraft, and extends to at least 20 cities inthe area that include Jeddah, Dubai, Doha, Kuwait, Baghdad, Lahore, and Kabul.
