Category Archives: Aviation

Jetex Oceanair customs has cleared 25 tonnes of explosive cargo, consisting of 1500 pkgs, in a chartered light, TU-204C aircraft. “The cargo for Almaty has been handled from CCU Airport for the first time and perhaps is the single largest uplift of class I DG cargo in India,” informs Jaideep Raha, Managing Director, Jetex Oceanair. The explosives were packed into the special thermally insulated, water-proof and crush-proof boxes, shipped from Mumbai. Raha said, “The boxes were very carefully looked in an operation that begun on May 26 night and carried on till late next morning. The area around the aircraft was cordoned off and utmost security measures were taken to avoid any untoward incident.”

In a step towards building a ‘Digital Logistics’ marketplace, Hans Infomatic launched Cargo E-Go portal at the recently held Wings 2018. In an industry, which has multiple stakeholders, each specialising in specific services, getting an optimum quality and economical service becomes challenging. It requires multiple communication and manual co-ordination efforts before getting the best possible service. Recognising these challenges and continuing in its pioneering solution offerings to digitally integrate multi-stakeholder processes, Hans Infomatic has developed Cargo E-Go. The platform brings together all key stakeholders in the supply chain, to communicate freely and avail the best service offering from one another. Now, a customer can look forward to exchanging their service requirements to various service providers at the click of a button and get best pricing option. Being a two-way communication platform, it further simplifies the hassles of multiple to and fro manual processing.

Express Industry Council of India released a Deloitte – led independent report titled ‘Indian Express Industry-2018: A multi-modal play in building the ecosystem’. The report forecasts the growth of the express logistics industry at 17 per cent CAGR; estimated to reach Rs 48,000 crore by 2023. Mentioning express industry as a key facilitator of the Indian economy, RS Subramanian, Country Manager, DHL Express India, says, “Every new age business, say e-commerce, whether it is B2C, B2B, within the country or cross-border trade is built on the back of express delivery. Supply chains are getting faster, shorter and tighter.” The report highlighted that with the rise of new age business models and SMEs, and economy on the path of revival, there has been a considerable focus on improving India’s logistics performance. It also indicated that the industry grew at 15 per cent CAGR over the past five years and is estimated to be worth Rs 22,000 crore in FY17. Vijay Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, EICI, said, “The express logistics landscape is undergoing a huge transformation due to the need for time bound delivery services to complement the growth of trade. As a key enabler of trade, the industry will also support and benefit from the e-retail boom in India. We also anticipate the express industry to provide a significant boost to India’s employment base to increase to Rs 26 lakhs. Regulatory and policy changes, and infrastructure enhancements will also give a much-needed fillip to the industry, which will positively impact the growth of other sectors.”

Given the expected growth in air cargo volumes in the country, the cargo handling capacity at airports would need to be upgraded by around 2.0 million tonnes over the next five years. The air cargo infrastructure in India is increasingly getting constrained by the strong growth in traffic for last few years, mentions an ICRA note. Cargo traffic in India crossed 2.98 million tonnes in FY2017, registering 10 per cent Y-o-Y increase and reached 2.5 million tonnes over 9M FY2018 (15 per cent Y-o-Y). Indian airports are estimated to have a combined capacity to handle 4.63 million tonnes of cargo per annum as of now – translating into utilization of around 75%. The movement in cargo traffic is largely linked with the level of economic activity in the country. With the expected growth in GDP, along with other growth drivers, the air cargo traffic is expected to get a major boost. ICRA expects the air cargo traffic in India to grow by around 60% to 4.7 million tonnes in next five years – translating into CAGR of 9.7 per cent.

Cathay Pacific Cargo has partnered with va-Q-tec for temperature-controlled transportation. va-Q-tec’s advanced passive thermal containers will be a strong addition to Cathay Pacific Cargo’s Pharma LIFT portfolio by providing its global customers with an excellent solution for moving life-saving pharmaceuticals by air freight. Frosti Lau, General Manager – Cargo Service Delivery, Cathay Pacific, said, “These advanced passive thermal containers can offer steady temperature-controlled conditions for several days without requiring external energy sources. Coupled with Cathay Pacific Cargo’s extensive network, we are confident the containers will benefit our customers around the world.”

The Uttar Pradesh government is drafting its own logistics policy, as higher industrial activity, economic growth and the government’s recent policy decisions are triggering unprecedented growth in the sector. “With both the Eastern and the Western freight corridors and several industrial corridors passing through Uttar Pradesh, we are at a good position to take advantage of this logistics revolution which we expect to see in the next two years,” Rajiv Kumar, Chief Secretary, UP State Government. The policy will entail the establishment of at least five industrial parks across the state; the smallest with an investment of Rs 200 crore. The policy will also include various incentives for logistics players if they invest in this sector in the state.

Dr Renu Singh Parmar, Ex Senior Advisor, Ministry of Civil Aviation was awarded the prestigious ‘Legend in Public Service’ award. While at the ministry, she has initiated a number of reforms in the air cargo sector, prominently, the reduction in dwell time of cargo at airports. She has spearheaded the development of a national Air Cargo Community System. Dr Parmar was also instrumental in setting up the National Aviation University and launching its first few programmes.

The third edition of the India Cargo Awards – North & East celebrated the accomplishments of the cargo industry of North & East India at The Lalit, New Delhi on December 20, 2017. Salman Khurshid, former Cabinet Minister for External Affairs, former Cabinet Minister for Law and Justice and Minority Affairs, Government of India, was the Chief Guest for the distinguished evening. The ceremony saw the august presence of the leaders and runners of the cargo industry. The 39 winners were chosen after a fair and unbiased selection process which includes an online voting platform.

Samir H. Mankad, CEO & Executive Director, GSEC, was awarded the esteemed DDP Trailblazer. He has been serving the company right from the time of its privatisation in 2004. GSEC is the custodian of cargo in Ahmedabad. Under his leadership, GSEC operates airports at Indore and Visakhapatnam as an O&M operator, while also looking after the domestic cargo terminals at Indore and Raipur. Mankad is a Mechanical Engineer and holds an MBA and has more than 37 years of experience in project management, MIS, systems and logistics. He has served in leading organisations like Bajaj Group, Alembic, Torrent and Adani Group. Mankad also devotes his time in teaching the management subjects in  institutions such as AMA, Nirma University, and more.

M. Afzal Malbarwala, Managing Director, Galaxy Freight, was awarded with the prestigious ‘Gallery of Legends’ award. With his rich experience in the freight forwarding industry, he has taken Galaxy Freight to a top position in airfreight and sea-freight industry. Malbarwala strongly believes that success is the product of competitiveness and high standards of quality. The Honorary Secretary General of ACCAI, Malbarwala, is a Commerce graduate and has a genuine, persuasive and interpersonal style that ensures trust to strengthen relationship among clients. He started his career in 1977 in the freight forwarding and logistics industry and started his own company soon after. Galaxy Freight handles approximately 1000 tonnes of airfreight export shipments per month. With more than four decades of experience in the freight forwarding industry, Malbarwala has developed the ability to adapt and cater to different client requirements; thereby, delivering hassle-free solutions.