Full-fledged air cargo hub in the making

On one side, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa and other international carriers are increasingly hovering over the Indian skies with their freighters, scouring for a perfect landing to bring in and take back air cargo loads. And on the other, heaps of potential air cargo parcels are lying at the warehouses of the Indian industry, waiting to be air-lifted and flown to their global destinations.
But the rendezvous between the two is not happening, at least not on the scale and speed that it should. Nick Rhodes, Director Cargo of Cathay Pacific, said, “India is an exciting market for us. We expect India’s contribution to our global (cargo) revenues to increase from 3.5 per cent to five per cent this fiscal and 10 per cent in the next three to four years.”
Clearly, India has the potential to play a much larger role in the air cargo market, especially with international carriers looking at Asia as a major growth driver for their air cargo business. But the major roadblock is the absence of a full-fledged air cargo hub, backed by strong regional air connectivity and road network for the last-mile transportation.
16/09/12 Amit Mitra/Business Line

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Categories: airports Sep 2012, Cargo Sep 2012, New Sep 2012