Category Archives: Aviation

The recently-held Aviation Conclave of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), in New Delhi, saw industry veterans and stakeholders discuss the Air Cargo Policy that was launched in January. Sharing his opinion on the policy, Tushar Jani, President, ACFI, said, “I think we need to plan our growth and it’s difficult to get into the day-to-day problems of simplification, infrastructure, and other issues. I would suggest that with the new National Air Cargo Policy, let’s make a design and decide what should be the blueprint for the air cargo infrastructure in this country. If we can achieve that, our infrastructure probably would be better than a lot of other places.” He added, “I commend Air India for its growth in cargo in the last 1.5 years, which is remarkable. I am sure that carriers, by going direct, have grown their cargo equally. Hence, we need to make a blueprint considering India will be connected directly with many destinations, and the traditional hubs in the Middle East may shift into the US, Europe, or the Far East.” He also said India could perform better in the value-added supply chain than even developed countries, because the labour here is intelligent and available, and the industry must take leverage here.

Blue Dart has launched its new state-of-the-art aviation facility strategically located near Terminal-1 (Domestic) at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai. The facility measures 4300 sqm and is equipped with both air and city-side access, enabling fast and efficient transfer of shipments, improving transit times, and further strengthening Blue Dart’s market-leading service quality. The new facility is equipped with dedicated ground handling with superior equipment, automation, world-class infrastructure, and advanced technologies to support handling of express shipments within the shortest time possible, in compliance with security and safety protocols.

To make the airline’s cargo services available to a wider global freight market and provide customers with industry-leading visibility across the shipment lifecycle, Unisys Corporation has announced that MAB Kargo Sdn Bhd (MASkargo), the cargo division of Malaysia Airlines, will further enhance the digital transformation of its business using two secure, cloud-based Unisys Digistics digital logistics solutions. Under a five-year engagement, MASkargo will join the Unisys Digi-Portal e-commerce platform to promote its inventory to a wider global community of more than 25,000 buyers – forwarders, airlines, general sales agents, and handlers across 140+ countries.

The government has proposed allowing delivery of goods by drones, paving the way for commercial applications in the field. In Drone Policy 2.0, the government has proposed permitting their operations beyond the visual line of sight. “Commercial UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) operations will foster various new forms of air freight capabilities, such as creation of supply chain relay networks for delivery of payload, transport of temperature-sensitive commodities like bodily organs, emergency or just-in-time deliveries of life-saving medicines or safe blood for transfusion, and collection of patient specimens for delivery to laboratory for time-sensitive testing,” the document stated.

Inaugurating the first edition of Logix India 2019, Suresh Prabhu, Minister of State for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Government of India, said that the commerce ministry was working on a draft for the national logistics policy aimed at promoting seamless movement of goods across the country, increasing the warehousing capacity, and reducing high transaction costs for traders. The Minister added that workshops will be organised to seek views on the draft. Prabhu reiterated that high logistics costs impact the competitiveness of domestic goods in international markets. He also said that the Ministry was undertaking several steps, including development of a national logistics portal, to boost both domestic and foreign trade. The main departments involved in the process are railways, shipping, road transport, civil aviation, and customs. He further added that improvement in logistics sector would help boost trade and economic development.

SpiceXpress has announced the launch of its dedicated freighter service between Guwahati and Hong Kong. To start with, SpiceXpress, the dedicated air cargo arm of SpiceJet, will operate a weekly flight between Guwahati and Hong Kong. The company has deployed its Boeing 737 freighter on the route with an approximate carrying capacity of 18 tonnes. SpiceXpress sees a huge potential for exports from North East India and plans to add connecting weekly flights each from Silchar and Imphal to Hong Kong thereby taking the total tally to three flights per week between the regions. Besides fresh fruits and vegetables, SpiceXpress also plans to start export of exotic tea and kiwi wines from Arunachal Pradesh.

The government unveiled its much-awaited national air cargo policy at the Global Aviation Summit in Mumbai. The policy, aimed to bring down the cost of air logistics, seeks to make India one of the top five air freight markets by 2025, besides creating air transport shipment hubs at all major airports over the next six years. It states that international cargo comprises 60 per cent of the total air cargo tonnes handled in the country, logging a growth of 15.6 per cent in the previous fiscal, while domestic cargo grew by over eight per cent, which reflects the skewed modal mix, in which roads account for over 60 per cent of cargo transportation as compared to the global average of around 30 per cent. The policy will also encourage code sharing/inter-line agreements between foreign and Indian carriers.

Ground handling services provider, Çelebi Aviation Holding, has won the ground handling license for Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) for 10 years through an international competitive bid process. This is the third win for Çelebi since last year, after winning the licenses for the Bengaluru and Kannur airports. The company plans to make an investment of $5-6 million at the airport. Murali Ramachandran, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Çelebi Aviation Holding Inc India, said, “The year gone by was a very important year for Çelebi as it marked the 10th anniversary of our India operations. Our partnership with RGIA is an important benchmark in our decade long journey as it sets another milestone towards our efforts of strengthening our presence and commitment in the India aviation market.”

SpiceFresh launched a dedicated freight service to transport fresh produce. To mark the occasion, two flights flew one tonne each of mandarin oranges from Guwahati International Airport (GAU), to Hong Kong (HKG) and Dubai (DBX), according to a Twitter statement from the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Chandra Mohan Patowary, Industries and Commerce minister, said, “He hoped that the mandarins produced in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh will brighten the future for these states in terms of exporting agri-horti produce from north-eastern states. Authorities from SpiceJet said that its flights will go to Hong Kong with 18 tonnes of freight between Guwahati and Kolkata daily, while both the Hong Kong and Dubai routes will be connected via the company’s international network.

With an aim to meet the significant increase in demand for cargo services to India, Saudia Cargo is offering 60 tonnes of cargo capacity per week in the bellies of its A330 aircraft flying to Calicut International Airport (CCJ), Kerala. Omar Hariri, Chief Executive Officer, Saudia Cargo, said, “The cargo business is doing its best to support the agricultural products and general cargo of Kerala region, exploring every way possible to increase exports from the neighbouring cities of Calicut.”