India's Afcom eyes in-house ops as first B737F arrives

The ranks of India's cargo airlines are set to expand with cargo company Afcom (Chennai) inching towards certification to operate its own aircraft. The established business has been telling Indian media that certification could come through as soon as October and is in possession of a freshly arrived B737-800(BCF) with another two scheduled to land before the year's end. ch-aviation was unable to verify the identity of the aircraft.

"This aircraft will support Afcom’s current capacity with its airfreight partners, thus enabling a faster and more reliable delivery service,” Afcom chairman Deepak Parasuraman told Indian media last week. "The company plans to add two more freighter aircraft to its fleet by the end of the year. Air cargo is today a key enabler of flexibility and speed in global supply chains. We foresee good and rising demand for air cargo and we are fully geared up to infuse the required capacity in the market.”

The company ships around 250 tonnes of cargo a month using airfreight partners but acquiring its own planes will allow Afcom to uplift around 1,250 tonnes a month. Via their partners, Afcom now serves Singapore, Indonesia, and Brunei but the cargo carrier intends to start flights to Hanoi and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi once they are cleared to fly their own planes.

According to the ch-aviation PRO airlines module, there is only one other dedicated cargo airline operating out of India - Blue Dart Aviation (BZ, Chennai), while Quikjet Airlines (FQA, Bangalore Int'l) is restarting and a further six would-be cargo airlines are working to transition from the business plan stage to the operating airline stage.

28/09/22 ch-aviation

Read More

BLR Airport ranks first for perishable cargo handling; Doha emerges as top destination

Kempegowda International Airport (BLR Airport) in Bengaluru continues the No. 1 airport in India for handling perishable cargo. In FY 2021-22, BLR Airport handled 52,366 Metric Tonnes (MT) of perishable cargo, up from 48,130 MT the previous year. BLR Airport now handles 41% of South India's air-cargo perishable tonnage, making it India's top airport for perishables. Fruits and vegetables, as well as poultry and flower exports, have been important drivers of this rise. In FY'22, BLR Airport exported 36,493 MT of chicken and 1,952 MT of flowers. Doha was the most popular destination, followed by Singapore, London, and Male. In fiscal year 22 (FY22), 33 cargo freighter planes delivered perishable supplies from BLR Airport to 85 overseas destinations.

"BLR Airport has the advantage of dedicated cold zones enabling processing of perishable goods for export, which is the highest in India. The infrastructure that we provide ensures cold-chain integrity and seamless movement of perishables, without any change in the optimum storage temperature. Our recent partnerships with multiple cargo partners for infrastructure and technology will only make the Airport's cargo capacity stronger and even better", stated Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy and Development Officer, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL).

Various statutory bodies from both the Government of India (GoI) and the Government of Karnataka (GoK), including Indian Customs, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), the Plant Quarantine Office Bangalore, and the Karnataka State Agricultural Produce Processing and Export Corporation Limited (KAPPEC), have assisted BLR Airport in maintaining quality standards across operations at its cargo facility.

APEDA has been crucial in assisting Karnataka's perishable exporters and understanding their needs in order to increase exports.

27/09/22 ITLN

Read More

DHL Express announces price hikes for India

DHL Express has announced an average price increase of 7.9 percent in India w.e.f January 1, 2023 compared to the current year. "So far, 2022 has been another turbulent year with a volatile market environment challenging global trade," says R S Subramanian, SVP South Asia, DHL Express. "However, we have proven our ability to offer stable and reliable services to our customers globally. With the annual price adjustment, we are able to invest in our infrastructure and technology to ensure resilient, sustainable, and world-class customer solutions. It includes state-of-the-art aircraft and vehicles, expanding our hubs and gateways to meet increasing customer demand, and investing in green and more sustainable solutions, such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel and electric vehicles." 

Prices are adjusted on an annual basis by DHL Express taking into consideration inflation and currency dynamics as well as administrative costs related to regulatory and security measures, says an official release.

24/09/22 ITLN

Read More

Boost agri export from airport: Traders

Amritsar: With agriculture experts and the government laying stress on switching from the conventional paddy and wheat cyclical circle to other crops, the export of fresh agriculture produce from the perishable cargo centre at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport needs to be given a boost.

Taking advantage of Air India’s thrice-a-week direct Amritsar-London flight, some exporters from Punjab and Haryana are exporting fresh farm produce like baby corn, mango and other seasonal fruit and vegetables to Europe.

Azad Singh, in-charge of the centre at the airport, said the centre exported 400 tonnes of fresh farm cargo during the fiscal 2021-2022. “There is a great potential for agricultural and non-vegetarian items. Apart from fresh farm produce, the centre exports chess, pharma products, readymade garments, shawls, sports goods, engineering goods, etc,” he said.

The journey of perishable cargo has never been smooth. Initially, Jet Airways had been handling the export of fresh vegetables to London since July 2006. Subprime mortgage crisis-induced recession had forced the private airline to withdraw the flight. Later Air India filled the breach for some time as it eventually withdrew its Amritsar-London-Toronto flight on October 30, 2010. The export of fresh cargo had resumed only after the introduction of thrice-a-week to and fro direct service by BMI on the London-Almaty-Amritsar section from October 14, 2011. Subsequently, it was also withdrawn.

Now, Air India’s thrice-a-week flight to London offers about 12-tonne capacity of cargo in each plane. The staff at the center fresh farm produce state that a flight on an average carries three tonnes of cargo.

20/09/22 Neeraj Bagga/Tribune

Read More

High temperature reported from cargo hold of Mumbai-Nagpur AI flight

Mumbai: High temperature was reported from the cargo area of an Air India plane operating from Mumbai to Nagpur on Friday, and was caused due to a sealed radioactive consignment stowed in cargo hold of the aircraft.

An Air India spokesperson said that it was a normal landing for AI 627 with 72 passengers from Mumbai to Nagpur on Friday.

"No priority landing was sought. After landing, high temperature from the cargo hold was reported to be caused from a sealed consignment of radioactive material. The consignment is offloaded and accepted by the consignee," said the spokesperson.

After necessary clearance from regulatory authorities, AI 628 took off from Nagpur and reached Mumbai at 1.30 p.m. with 148 passengers, the spokesperson added.

As per rules, if dangerous goods classified as radioactive material are to be carried in any aircraft to, from or within India, the operator shall ensure that the consignor or the consignee, as the case may be, has written consent of the Central Government to carry such goods under section 16 of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.

16/09/22 IANS/Daijiworld

Read More