Category Archives: Aviation

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) capped off 2024 on a high note, solidifying its role as a cornerstone of India’s air freight network by achieving significant milestones in cargo operations. International cargo volumes rose by an impressive 17 percent. Demonstrating continued efficiency, the airport’s cargo operations achieved the highest-ever daily tonnage of 204 MT, marking another milestone in the airport’s commitment to enabling seamless global trade. CSMIA’s Cargo Terminal achieved remarkable growth across both international and domestic cargo categories. In March 2024, the cargo operations set a new milestone by handling a record-breaking 60,659 metric tonnes (MT) of international cargo, underscoring its strategic significance and operational excellence. Throughout the year, CSMIA significantly enhanced global connectivity, now serving 687 international destinations. This expansion included new destinations such as Tripoli, Khabarovsk, Kaliningrad, Zhukovsky, Tyumen, Damascus, Honinabi, and Chisinau. Domestically, the airport reinforced its position as a vital logistics hub, prioritising pharmaceuticals, automobile goods, and dangerous goods (DG), thereby strengthening its role in a comprehensive air cargo ecosystem. Notably, international cargo volumes at CSMIA were split between 55 percent of exports and 45percent of imports, with London, Frankfurt, Chicago, Dubai, and Amsterdam emerging as the top global destinations. On the international front, pharmaceuticals, agro products, and automobile goods emerged as key drivers, recording year-on-year increases of 24 percent, 22 percent, and 20 percent, respectively. On the domestic front, automobile goods led the surge with a remarkable 31 percent growth, followed by engineering goods at 22 percent and post office mail at 15percent. The festive season further amplified the e-commerce boom, with international shipments witnessing a 53 percent year-on-year growth and domestic e-commerce goods achieving an 11 percent increase. Agricultural exports also reached …

Gregory Goba Ble, Head of UPS India and Director of MOVIN Express said, “Investments in the logistics sector can support India’s trade goals, enhance economic efficiency and encourage MSMEs to scale-up. To further strengthen India’s position in global markets, achieve the objective of National Logistics policy, and reach the export target of US$2 trillion by 2030, the thrust should be to simplify export compliance procedures and reduce regulatory cost for logistics players. We hope to see measures to expedite e-commerce clearances and simplify cross-border online transactions. There needs to be increased budget allocation for the healthcare sector, which relies heavily on a robust and integrated logistics network. This will ensure efficient delivery of medical supplies and increase the sector’s overall effectiveness to cater to pharmaceutical and patient requirements. In the earlier budgets, the Government has announced programs and initiatives to support MSMEs and we expect that to continue. We hope MSMEs, especially in the tier 2-3 cities, are further empowered with capital and technology adoption for them to compete in global markets.”  

Currently, due to the unpredictable weather conditions in Europe and U.S., both belly and freighter capacity is getting impacted, it is also causing massive flight cancellations and delays in cargo movement,” said Satish Lakkaraju, CEO, NexGen Logistics, Garudavega. He added, “Recent fires at the U.S. (Los Angeles) have also created apprehensions in the minds of the Indian exporters and importers. Dollar rates rising to 86 is a good sign for Indian exporters but a cause of concern for importers. In the coming years, the U.S. dollar to Indian rupee exchange will continue to be volatile given the fact that India continues to import crude oil and that is another important aspect from a cargo standpoint. Fuel surcharge is one of the important aspects for arriving at the freight rates. In the express industry, the freight rates change on a weekly to a monthly basis. But, in the cargo industry, the freight rates from the airlines change on monthly basis. So that’s one volatile factor that also determines the prices for the air freight when you may have a base rate on it. 18 per cent GST on air freight is another concern for industry, impacting businesses. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is still impacting the global supply chains. To avoid the war zones, the traders are taking longer routes which basically means longer transit times both the air and ocean.”

Sharing his pre-budget expectations, Ravi Jakhar, Chief Strategy Officer, Allcargo Group said, “The logistics industry is poised to play an enabling role in driving economic growth on the back of policy support, technology integration and continued infrastructure development. Hence, in the Union Budget 2025-26, we expect the government to propose robust capex in developing both physical and digital infrastructures to build the pathway for India to become a $5 trillion economy by FY27-28.  For the logistics industry, the continued push by the government for infrastructure development through initiatives like National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, etc. will help the industry make significant progress in achieving efficiency. A robust road, rail, air and waterway networks, growing network of multi-modal logistics parks, developing renewable energy infrastructure and strong digital infrastructure will further expand economic activities geographically, drive sustainability and enhance the service delivery capacity and capabilities for the logistics industry. A sustained capex push will also attract private investment in infrastructure development. However, considering long gestation, government has to take lead in logistics infrastructure capex to boost efficiency in supply chains. In addition, earlier E-commerce and now quick commerce’s rapid growth has underscored the necessity for agile and accelerated distribution capabilities. Therefore, the budget should propose fiscal measures to facilitate adoption of new-age technologies such as AI, automation, IoT so that the logistics industry breaks new grounds in efficiency as well as capacity utilisation and deployment.”

Nilratan Shende, Head – CSR, Allcargo Group said, “Skill development in the logistics sector has yet to achieve the desired momentum as there is lack of efforts in the industry to institutionalise skill development initiatives. Given the growing demand of logistics and supply chain services, it’s extremely critical for the industry to develop an institutional framework to generate trained human capital. Allcargo multi-skill development centre launched by Allcargo Group aims to build trained human resource pool equipped with the required sector-specific skills so that the logistics industry can enhance its service delivery capabilities and elevate its growth trajectory. Located at Bokadvira, Uran near JNPT, Navi Mumbai, the centre aims to plug the skill gaps in the industry and strengthen the employability of the youth with industry-specific training. Trainers at the centre are Logistics Skill Council (LSC) TOT (Training of Trainers) certified. It operates under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) model and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) flagship scheme of the Union Government’s Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). The training goal is to help students gain employment as consignment booking assistant, consignment tracking executive, inventory clerk, documentation assistant and warehouse picker/packer, heavy vehicle drivers, etc. The programs aim to improve their skill proficiencies in functional areas like warehousing documentation, booking, loading, unloading, tracking, MIS, picking and packing processes. Under its CSR initiative, Allcargo Group has launched the NIPUN program with centres at Mangalore, Chennai and Dadri and Gautham Budha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh. Nipun is an initiative by Allcargo Logistics and Avashya Foundation aimed at skill development of youth from the drought-affected backward areas of Maharashtra.”

Alpana Chaturvedi, CEO, MyLogistics Gurukul says, “One of the main challenges of hiring trained professionals is the lack of awareness about the myriad opportunities in logistics industry. Or even an understanding of the modern-day logistics industry- which is becoming specialised and can offer a rewarding career opportunity in its various verticals. Logistics is still not an aspirational career choice. At MyLogistics Gurukul, we offer these workshops in colleges towards creating this awareness. Institutes/ Universities offering courses in Supply Chain and Logistics need to upgrade their training curriculum or collaborate with the industry. There is an effort towards bridging this gap already, but still more work needs to be done towards this. Starting salaries are lower in the logistics industry as compared to other industries like IT, BPOs, and other Corporates. While slowly more and more women are willing to join the industry but still there is a lack of women willing to join the logistics industry as once again there is a lack of awareness.

Softlink Global has taken a significant step forward with the inauguration of its new bigger office in Delhi. The relocation is part of a larger wave of growth for Softlink Global, which has recently expanded its Chennai office to enhance service efficiency, promote closer collaboration with clients, and to support the vibrant logistics ecosystem. Amit Maheshwari, Founder and CEO, Softlink Global, inaugurated the new office on 10th January, 2025 in a warm and celebratory atmosphere alongside the Delhi team. The event marked a significant milestone in Softlink’s journey since its initial steps into Delhi in 2004. He shared his vision at the inauguration ceremony. “Our journey in Delhi began with a small office and ambitious dreams. Today, this larger office is a reflection of our growth and commitment to providing world-class logistics solutions to our clients in North India. It’s all about growing closer to our customers, understanding their needs, and working with them to navigate the digital-first logistics future.” He further emphasised, “Our focus extends beyond physical growth. Through continuous product innovation and skill development initiatives like Softlink Academy, under which programs like LogiEXPERT–meant for teams of our customers – are live, we remain committed to empowering our clients to achieve greater success.”

Dipen Lalsodagar, Deputy Director Cargo Sales, Global Aviation said, “As the exports is on a decline; schemes like incentivising specific commodities for a specific tenure, setting up value based export targets with additional drawback scheme, more focus on export of perishables & pharma will help boost exports. Also, commodities like Garments, pharma, electronics (Microchips & Mobile phones) will drive growth in the coming years with an increased production.”

Sunil Kohli, MD, Rahat Cargo said, “Indian exports have lately witnessed a slump because of several compelling factors. A majority of Indian exporters cite high interest rates as a major hurdle. Despite government efforts to address freight concerns,  borrowing costs and collateral requirements remain issues, especially for smaller exporters, affecting their competitiveness. It’s also observed that consumer demand has weakened, private investment has been sluggish for years and reportedly the government spending- an essential driver in recent years has been pulled back. Further, many exporters have diverted to the domestic market as profitability in exports has taken a hit with a sharp rise in international freight (both ship and air). Had it not been for these trade disruptions led by logistical challenges such as higher cost of raw material, lack of shipping space, inflated air/sea freights by the carriers and declining commodity prices by the overseas buyers, merchandise exports would have recorded growth.”

Vipin Vohra, Chairman, Continental Carriers said, “To enhance exports, India must diversify markets, targeting emerging economies and non-traditional regions. Strengthening manufacturing under Make in India and improving quality standards are key. Expanding and renegotiating Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) can open new opportunities. Promoting supply chain digitization and reducing logistics costs through infrastructure upgrades will improve efficiency. Incentives for value-added products, support for MSMEs, and global branding initiatives will help India gain a competitive edge in global markets. Future export drivers include electronics, electric vehicles, green energy components, and pharmaceuticals like biologics. IT services, AI-driven technologies, agro-processed products, and sustainable textiles also show strong potential. With global focus on renewable energy, sectors like solar panels and specialty chemicals will gain prominence. Innovation, value addition, and sustainable practices will ensure India’s competitive edge in these areas.”