About 99 per cent of the passenger aircraft today have space for cargo and 6-12 per cent of the total revenue earned by airline operators comes from cargo handling. In 2018-19, Indian airlines handled about 3.6 million metric tonnes (mmt) of cargo across the country. Of this, about 27 per cent was handled by Airports Authority of India Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company Limited (AAICLAS). At a recent conference organised by India Infrastructure, Keku Gazder, chief executive officer, AAICLAS shared his perspective on the current scenario in the air cargo segment, key initiatives being undertaken by AAICLAS, future plans and targets. Excerpts…
Currently, AAICLAS operates 19 international and 25 domestic cargo terminals. In addition, it operates a courier facility and dedicated cold storage facilities at 16 airports across the country. Besides, common user domestic cargo terminals have been established to enhance the operational efficiency of airport terminals. Over the past year, AAICLAS has focused extensively on the development of cargo handling infrastructure in the Northeast. It is currently in the process of constructing cargo terminals at Imphal, Dibrugarh, Silchar and Agartala. Besides, the company is also planning to develop cargo terminals in Jorhat and Dimapur in the near future. AAICLAS is upgrading the international air cargo terminal at Guwahati at a cost of Rs 150 million. India’s first integrated pack house-cum-perishable cargo terminal is expected to be commissioned at Guwahati airport in 2020-21. Once completed, it will act as a transit point for cargo flowing into the Northeast, to be transported to other Asian countries.
In addition, interim domestic cargo facilities at Dehradun, Silchar, Dibrugarh, Hubballi and Belagavi, besides additional terminals for domestic cargo at Guwahati, have been planned for the next five years. Apart from the focus on the Northeast, AAICLAS’s future development plans include international courier terminals in Tiruchirappalli and Kolkata, along with the upgradation of cargo handling infrastructure at the Srinagar and Amritsar airports. The company has conducted trial runs for a cargo handling facility in Bhopal, while the cargo handling facility at Jaipur is expected to come up in the next couple of months. Apart from these, international cargo facilities at Aurangabad and Trivandrum, along with additional cold storage facilities at Chennai and Indore are expected to be commissioned in 2019-20. About 17 cargo handling facilities will also be created by AAICLAS between 2021 to 2024 subject to availability of land from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and approval from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). Overall, AAICLAS has plans to set up cargo handling infrastructure at 16 airports including the Rajahmundry, Dehradun and Jaipur airports by 2021, in addition to expansion plans for 12 airports including the Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Bhubaneswar airports by 2024.
In its recent mandate, AAI has asked for in-line hold baggage screening at airport terminals. Such scanners are already in place at the Chennai and Goa airports and are expected to be put in place at various other airports as well. AAICLAS has also signed an MoU with Chandigarh International Airport Limited to develop an integrated air cargo terminal facility at the Chandigarh international airport that will cater to the perishable cargo flowing from the entire northern region. Further, AAICLAS has obtained the status of a regulated agent (RA) from the BCAS and is currently in the process of applying for RA3 to be able to self-screen its cargo flowing to European Union countries.
The government has also been taking initiatives such as Krishi UDAN to provide an air freight ecosystem for the output generated by the agricultural sector. So far, Indian airport terminals have achieved up to 80 per cent capacity utilisation in cargo handling. AAICLAS is now moving towards a more robust IT platform, incorporating internet of things , artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies for cargo processing. Such technologies can facilitate real-time tracking of cargo. Besides, the company is also planning to implement automatic volume checkers, automatic truck dock and X-ray machines to automate cargo processing and minimise human intervention.
However, certain challenges have been a hindrance to the creation of effective cargo handling infrastructure. Besides, since airports are often high-value and high-return constrained spaces, cargo processing centres and airfreight stations are expected to flourish outside airports in the near future. To address the inconveniences associated with this, AAICLAS aims to give a boost to land-air movement. Going forward, transit, transshipment and growth of production capacity is imperative to providing a boost to cargo handling services. Besides, the availability and value of airfreightable cargo is also critical for the growth of cargo handling in the country.