At airport, MIAL bungling with cargo cost us Rs 200 cr: Traders

Questioning the work culture at the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) that they said was responsible for improper storage of cargo, parcels getting damaged or going missing and other problems, traders from various associations recently made a presentation of their woes before officials of the Civil Aviation and the Commerce and Industry ministries.
Traders said the damaged goods even included costly medical devices that came with 'handle with care' instructions, and claimed the accumulated losses resulting from poor infrastructure at the city airport and mishandling of cargo were close to Rs 200 crore in the past few months.
In a detailed PowerPoint presentation made on September 26 in Delhi, traders said MRI and CT scan devices worth Rs 9 crore, cardiac stents worth Rs 2 crore, medicines worth Rs 2-3 crore, and automobile parts and food items worth crores were among the goods damaged in the recent past.
"The airport operator does not have enough sense of responsibility to even secure life-saving devices and medicines. We keep on knocking at its door with our complaints, but those people just refuse to listen," said an official spokesperson of a trade association that deals in international cargo.
These issues include improper storage, parcels going missing after landing, zero accountability when it comes to damage to cargo, lack of proper security in the cargo area, parcels not found at defined locations and arrogant behavior of the airport cargo-handling workforce.
22/10/11 Bipin Kumar Singh/MiD DAY

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Categories: airports Oct 2011, Cargo Oct 2011