Government in talks with stakeholders to ease air cargo processes, boost volumes

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Mint. The government hopes to make concrete progress on these proposals within a year, the official added. According to data from the Airports Authority of India, all operational airports handled 3.4 million tonnes of freight in 2023-24, including 2 million tonnes of international freight.

It is also important to note that the government has set a target of handling 10-million tonnes of air cargo per year by 2030. As part of the discussions with stakeholders, the civil aviation ministry is also evaluating various methods to enable a smoother process for foreign freighter operators to carry cargo to and from multiple points in India, the official added. Under the current framework, Indian freighter operators are allowed double dipping, a term used in the industry to explain how cargo meant for imports or exports is carried to and from more than one city in India.

For example, a domestic freight operator can take cargo from Delhi, then fly to Mumbai, take cargo from there, and then fly to its destination abroad. However, international freighter operators are approved on a case-by-case basis only. “We are in a very open, competitive world today.

The most critical and biggest shareholder in the entire chain is the customer—the shipper. For India to be(come) the factory of the world, we need to think beyond one cargo stakeholder," said Yashpal Sharma, president of Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI). “Indian carriers have to boost their capacity to service the Indian business demand.