“The non-compliance of RA3 regulations has affected exporters especially from the fruits & vegetables fraternity who failed to meet their commitments to their respective buyers in UK/Europe during the ongoing Mangoes season, says Sunil Kohli, Managing Director, Rahat Cargo, adding since many airports which were convenient for the shippers to forward the goods, declined acceptance due to absence of RA3 approval. The concerns were raised from several quarters to many forums yet no resolutions could be achieved till date. Perhaps a determined intervention by the government with all the stakeholders could have yielded a positive outcome. The non-operations of much needed freighters from major Indian stations continues to remain elusive whereas the capacity constraints on the pax version aircraft go on unabated which is bound to retard the export momentum.”

Xerrxes Master, President, Association Of Multimodal Transport Operators of India (AMTOI) says, Recently, several incidents of cargo smuggling and security breaches were reported at these airports, which led to concerns about the safety and security of cargo movement, that’s why the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has suspended cargo movement at 11 airports in India, including Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Pune, due to non-compliance with security RA3 regulations. The BCAS has mandated several security measures to ensure the safe and secure movement of cargo, including the screening of cargo and the use of tamper-evident seals. However, many airports were found to be non-compliant with these regulations, which prompted the suspension of cargo movement. The suspension has caused significant disruptions to the supply chain and logistics industry in India. It is important for the airports to take measures to comply with the BCAS regulations to ensure the safe and secure movement of cargo and to avoid any further disruptions to the industry.

Israeli airline El Al has secured regulatory approval to operate dedicated freighters from the Israeli civil aviation authority. It awaits its first converted aircraft now, Boeing 737-800 converted freighter. The extension to its commercial licence gives the airline the right to transport freight using all-cargo aircraft until June 5 next year. El Al had disclosed last October that the regulator was intending to cancel the airline’s freighter authorisation because it did not have the minimum of two cargo aircraft in its fleet. With a planned amendment to the regulation reducing this minimum requirement to a single aircraft, El Al opted to acquire a Boeing 737-800 converted freighter. The airline recently stated that the introduction of this freighter, through a dry-lease arrangement, has been held up for a few months by validation procedures. But it states that it obtained an amendment to its commercial licence from the civil aviation authority on June 7 granting the carrier the all-cargo aircraft rights.

Qatar Aviation Services (QAS) has become the first ground handler in the world to receive IATA’s environmental management system certification – the IATA Environmental Assessment programme (IEnvA). The IEnvA for Ground and Cargo Handling Service Organisations certificate, which is an expansion of the IEnvA for Airlines programme, was launched last year. QAS signed up as part of the pilot phase, becoming the first organisation globally to join the extended IEnvA programme. The bespoke standards developed by IATA, in collaboration with Qatar Airways Group and international sustainability experts, set a framework for achieving environmental sustainability across all ground operations. The scope for certification included QAS offices and workshop buildings, ground handling operations and equipment, cargo handling operations and equipment, and maintenance activities.

SpiceXpress and Logistics has partnered with Ekart to strengthen its door-to-door delivery capability. As part of this partnership, Ekart will provide first mile pickup of Cargo shipments and will also help deliver them through last mile connectivity across all serviceable pin codes in the country. The partnership will enable SpiceXpress, a tech-enabled logistics company, to significantly expand its reach and offer value, speed and transparency for its customers. With Ekart’s extensive network, SpiceXpress will offer an end-to-end service to its customers across all major industries. Kamal Hingorani, Chief Officer, SpiceXpress, said, “SpiceXpress is delighted to enter into this partnership with Ekart that will further strengthen our delivery service and significantly expand our reach and ability to make deliveries right at the customer’s doorstep. This is an exciting phase for SpiceXpress as we move forward expanding across the length and breadth of the country and creating value, accessibility and speed. With this latest partnership, SpiceXpress will offer its customers a one-stop solution for all of their door-to-door shipment requirements.”

Compliance is going to be the biggest factor to ensure safety, security and sovereignty of our nation. Compliance will come with a cost and inconvenience but its high time that trade should recognize that compliance is the key, says Samir J Shah, Partner, JBS Group of Companies. Indian exporters, importers, infrastructure developers and service providers should realise the more compliant we are, the more smoothly our cargo will move. In India, everything happens with Jugaad, tose days will soon be gone, we are seeing the change at lot of facilities which have either been stopped or being show cause as why it should not be stopped,” he adds. With so much amount of change and developments happening, the industry stakeholders are worried about their business continuity. The freight forwarding industry is the one which is going to remain because without cargo transportation, International business cannot happen. Yes, the challenges will change, the way we are working will change, what will happen is, the industry will become domain driven, which means each one of us will have to learn lot off new issues, legal issues, cultural and geographical issues and be in a situation to provide the efficient solutions which are quick, convenient and cost effective. So, the changes that are coming in through FTAs, technology evolution, trade facilitation agreements are pushing freight forwarders to do better, to send more cargo towards international borders. The industry should not worry about continuity, they should worry about adaptability, how they can change with the changing times.”

BCAS RA3 compliance is vital, no compromise with the cargo security, or theft, but govt. must grant at least one year’s time to these 11 AAICLAS operated airports, opines Cyrus Katgara, Partner, Jeena & Company. Cargo movement can’t be stopped. Govt. must facilitate EoDB, we can’t have cargo thefts, corruption or terrorism, therefore compliance is necessary but cargo movement should not suffer, things were going on smoothly earlier, no major incident happened in past many years. Our security is not bad at the moment. We surely need RA3 regulations, but business continuity is important too,” he adds. Katgara further comments on the burning issue which has become the bone of contention between the trade and the affected terminals. “We have to look at our Country first, what’s best for its welfare, then comes Exporters/ Importers, if their complaints, grievances are genuine then it must be solved too more effectively. I feel, the trade should not suffer, the airports should not loose its profitability, exports must not suffer. We follow India first policy. Closing down cargo movement at 11 AAICLAS operated airports due to its non compliance with BCAS RA3 regulations is affecting the trade and will take India backwards, instead of forward.”

The Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI) is all set to organise its 47th Annual Convention in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia from November 23 to November 26, 2023. The Three-day convention will witness participation from air cargo industry experts including airports, airlines, freight forwarders, custom house agents, associations and end users. M Afzal Malbarwala, President confirmed, “This year’s Annual Convention will happen in Kuala Lumpur.”

The Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) and Japan Customs Brokers Association signed a Memorandum of Understanding Japan to promote customs trade between the two nations and resolve existing challengs related to customs and freight forwarding. The MoU also aims to strengthen trade relations between the two countries, EODB through digitalization and shared business opportunities. The MoU was signed on the occasion of FFFAI’s 60th Diamond Jubilee celebrations on June 9, 2023 at New Delhi with the theme ”FFFAI Transcending Boundaries”. The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Government of India Piyush Goyal graced the event as Chief Guest. The Keynote address was delivered by Vivek Johri , Chairman CBIC in presence of FFFAI EC Members (Customs Brokers/Freight Forwarders) and guest participants from logistics industry stakeholders.

The Air Cargo Agents Association of India – ACAAI is proud to be represented by Mr. Keshav Tanna and Mr. C K Govil at the ongoing 49th Executive Council Meeting of FAPAA happening in Bali from 8th to 10th June, 2023. This significant gathering brought together esteemed members from various associations across South Eastern Countries to engage in discussions on a wide range of cargo-related issues.