Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia reviewed the facilities and infrastructure of the country’s major airports recently. Officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and other concerned agencies are taking significant steps in order to enhance and expand the facilities and infrastructure at major airports, said an official statement issued by a home ministry spokesperson. “Home Minister Shri @AmitShah and Minister for Civil Aviation Shri @JM_Scindia reviewed the facilities & infrastructure for major airports. The meeting aimed to address requirements arising out of fast-growing domestic and international aviation mobility in the country,” the spokesperson tweeted. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and other top officials of MoCA, Intelligence Bureau, Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, Central Industrial Security Force, and Airports Authority of India attended the meeting. The government has been taking various measures to boost infrastructure and manpower at airports, including at Delhi airport, amid rising domestic air passenger traffic. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and other top officials of MoCA, Intelligence Bureau, Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, Central Industrial Security Force, and Airports Authority of India attended the meeting.

The global air cargo market is under some severe yield pressure at the moment, says Mark Sutch, Chief Commercial Officer – CarGo International, IndiGo. Hence, it is imperative that freighters are planned and operated on routes that are viable and have a good balance of inbound and outbound tonnage, he adds. The challenge as always with freighters is to find the right balance for import/ export and we are seeing some good momentum in this aspect. Naturally, our markets are limited to the performance capability of the A321P2F freighters which have typical narrow body ranges and therefore do not have the ability for US/ Europe CarGo where there is year-round demand. Our Delhi- Istanbul and Mumbai-Istanbul passenger flights have also begun operations with B777s, and we, therefore, have some new widebody capacity that is being sold – not only to IST but beyond to a range of European destinations through our partnership with Turkish, he says. Citing IATA’s latest airline profitability report, he stated that IATA predicted cargo revenues of $142.3bn this year, which is 31.3% down on last year and behind the $149.4bn that was previously expected. In FY23, India’s air cargo traffic volume is estimated to have remained unchanged compared to the previous fiscal year, standing at 3.14 million tonnes.

A crucial pain point which forwarders face today is the frequent breakdown of the Customs IT System, especially on weekends and holidays, which delays Customs clearance of EXIM cargo, says C K Govil, Vice President, ACAAI. He adds, “Export shipments miss the flight connections. Import cargo doesn’t reach factories on time. Besides, the trade has to pay heavy demurrage charges to the Custodians for no fault of theirs. The Custodians, Cargo Terminal Operators, and Airlines also face technological failures in their respective domains, but the brunt has to be borne by their customers. No SLAs are defined to provide relief to Customers. On the non-technical front, the air freight forwarders and shippers suffered a major setback when the Government discontinued the Sunset clause of GST beyond September 30th, 2022, despite the industry’s multiple requests. It resulted in a levy of 18 per cent GST on airfreight against only 5 per cent on sea freight. It raised operational costs and also posed competitive problems for Indian Shippers.”

Teleport officially inducted its first Airbus A321 Freighter (A321F) aircraft into its air logistics fleet. “This is set to strengthen its position as the market leader in terms of most air cargo volume by tonnage across Southeast Asia,” says release. Teleport, founded only five years ago in May 2018, saw accelerated growth in the last 24 months driven by its three advantages; operating the largest air logistics network in Southeast Asia using the surplus belly space of 204 wide-and narrow-body AirAsia passenger aircraft, a focus on full digitisation and data to coordinate end-to-end e-commerce deliveries, and the continuous addition of deep third-party airline relationships. Today, over 1,500 businesses ‘Teleport’ their goods to over 80 destinations in Southeast Asia, using one digital Airway Bill, and with a guarantee that ‘it arrives tomorrow’.

Dronamics has become the first cargo drone airline to be officially assigned both IATA and ICAO designator codes. The drone firm has been assigned the IATA designator code “OY,” along with the accounting prefix “651.” The ICAO call sign “Black Swan” and the 3-letter airline designator “DXE” have also been assigned to Dronamics. Dronamics said the codes would enable it to be officially recognised as an airline entity, supporting commercial interline agreements with other IATA carriers, facilitating connections with freight forwarders, and enabling the publication of flight schedules. The IATA two-letter Airline Designator code “OY” will be used to establish flight numbers. The Airline Accounting Prefix “651” grants Dronamics the ability to issue air waybills (AWBs). The ICAO codes are used by pilots and air traffic controllers for flight planning, communication with air traffic control, and the dissemination of vital information through NOTAMs (Notice to Air Missions). Svilen Rangelov, co-founder and chief executive of Dronamics, said, “Becoming the first cargo drone airline with both IATA and ICAO designator codes is a testament to Dronamics’ pioneering spirit and our vision for faster, cheaper and green air cargo for everyone, everywhere. This recognition by the leading aviation community reinforces our position on the international aviation map.”

Get ready to listen to insightful discussion on ‘How India can increase generic drugs global market share from 20% to 40%?’ on July 21st, 11am-12pm. Pharma Digital Conclave powered by Cargo Talk in collaboration with Cargo Service Center (CSC) is all set to provide you the great insights on the topic with exerts joining us like Mr. Tushar Jani, Group Chairman, Cargo service Center, Mr. Murali Krishna, Director, Pharmexcil, Mr. Devang Vyas, Global Logistics Head, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Mr. Bharat Bhushan Rathi, Head Distribution and Logistics, Mankind Pharma on the panel. The session will be moderated by Mr Sanjeet, CEO, DDP Group.

India Cargo Awards 2023 is back with a bag to recognise the hard work of the ‘Heroes’ of the Indian Air Cargo and Logistics fraternity. Known as the “Oscars of the Cargo Industry,” the India Cargo Awards 2023 is all set to be held on 24 July 2023, 7 pm at Hyatt Regency, New Delhi. The annual awards hosted by Cargo Talk (DDP Group Publication) serves as an all-India platform created with a vision to recognise excellence in the Cargo-Freight-Logistics Industry across various domains, including Rail, Road, Air, Sea, Allied Services, Warehousing, Technology, 3rd Party Logistics, and more. Our world-class awards ceremonies are known for their formal Black-Tie affair, filled with glitz and glamour, attended by the most influential personalities in the Cargo Industry.

Get ready to be part of very interesting and insightful third Pharma Digital Conclave being organised by Cargo Talk in collaboration with Cargo Service Center (CSC) on July 21st, 2023 at 11am to 12 Noon. The digital conclave on ‘How India can increase generic drugs global market share from 20% to 40%?’ Will have Mr. Tushar Jani, Group Chairman, Cargo service Center, Mr. Murali Krishna, Director, Pharmexcil, Mr. Devang Vyas, Global Logistics Head, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Mr. Bharat Bhushan Rathi, Head Distribution and Logistics, Mankind Pharma on the panel. The session will be moderated by Mr Sanjeet, CEO, DDP Group.

All-cargo carrier Air Incheon has continued its expansion with the addition of freighter flights to Kuala Lumpur. The new five-times-per-week flights were launched on July 11 and utilise a Boeing 737-800 freighter. The airline said that the flights leave Incheon International at 11:00pm and arrive at Sepang International at 7:45am the following day. “As a Result, time -sensitive cargo, including e-commerce, express freight, perishable goods, and intermediate goods for global manufacturing companies, can be loaded at Incheon International Airport during the night and delivered to the destination immediately after customs clearance upon arrival in Kuala Lumpur the next morning,” the airline said. Air Incheon said the service would also target dangerous goods that cannot be carried in the bellies of passenger aircraft. “This new cargo route by Air Incheon greatly contributes to the increased export of fresh Korean agricultural products, including popular items like strawberries, which are in high demand in Southeast Asia,” the airline added. The carrier will also utilise road feeder services to transport goods to industrial areas such as Penang to cater for demand from the manufacturing industry for electronic components, factory supplies, and other industrial goods.

Virgin Atlantic Cargo has recently announced a Sustainable Aviation Fuel Certificate (SAFc) programme, designed to help freight forwarders and shippers manage their carbon emissions whilst demonstrating a joint commitment to scaling the SAF industry. Customers participating in the scheme will contribute to the airline’s purchase of SAF, receiving a SAF certificate for the associated scope 3 emissions reductions. Customers will also benefit from detailed insight into their Scope 3 air freight emissions via Virgin Atlantic Cargo’s own air freight carbon calculator. Developed in-house and independently certified, the calculator uses an industry-recognized methodology, and Virgin Atlantic’s actual flight emissions data to provide powerful insights to participating customers, enabling them to take action on their carbon footprint. DB Schenker is the first to participate in the scheme with the purchase of over several thousand tonnes of scope 3 emissions reductions. The global logistics service provider is continuously expanding its SAF-based air freight solutions.