Air India's cargo service delayed

Nagpur: Air India's ambitious freighter (cargo) service project with Nagpur's Dr Ambedkar International Airport as its hub has been postponed for an indefinite period again. This project, it has been claimed, has the potential to place Nagpur on the global aviation map even before the Multimodal International Hub Airport at Nagpur (Mihan) starts operations.
Air India (AI) was supposed to launch its much-awaited cargo services within the country from July 1. It was planning to connect six major destinations initially with Nagpur.
A senior Air India official requesting anonymity confirmed that the project launch has been postponed for some as yet unannounced reasons. However, the official informed that Air India has completed converting four of its B-737 Boeing aircraft into cargo planes. Each aircraft has a payload capacity of 12 to 15 tonnes.
Sources at the airport said, "The project may have been postponed in view of airlines suffering from huge losses, and the recent hike in ATF rates, which will further increase the cost of operating a cargo service."
As per plans that had been announced, the freighter service - Air India Cargo - was to be launched in March 2007. The launch was postponed to November 2007, to await delivery of new aircraft for use on passenger routes, so that the old aircraft could be reconfigured for cargo operations.
30/06/08 Sachin Dravekar/Times of India

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Categories: Cargo Jun 2008, NACIL Jun 2008, New Jun 2008