Rise in airport fee, ATF may hit cargo tonnage growth

New Delhi: A rise in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and spiralling airport charges have played havoc with cargo airline companies. According to industry forecasts, cargo tonnage growth, which stood at 10.5 per cent last year, might slow down to below 10 per cent this year.
For cargo carrier Blue Dart, for instance, land lease rentals, the amount paid for facilities such as warehouses and dockets, have increased from anywhere between 7.5 per cent to as much as 450 per cent during the last one year. Blue Dart operates to seven airports - New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.
These places account for about 90 per cent of the cargo carried in India.Besides, limited infrastructure for cargo at various airports is the main problem for airlines.
A Blue Dart executive said that while in its tonnage carried has increased by almost five times in the last 10 years, the space allocated to them at several airports like Delhi have remained the same due to limited infrastructure at the airports.
Indian airports fall far behind in terms of cargo facilities. While the Frankfurt Airport in Germany handles, 5,200 metric tonnes of cargo a day, much more than an Indian airport handles in one month.
06/07/08 Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard

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Categories: Cargo Jul 2008