There is immense congestion in cargo clearance at Airports, especially in Delhi Airport Cargo Terminals due to sudden mandate by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) to follow the order of 2015 regarding rules of screening export cargo, said Pradeep Multani, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in a press statement issued here today.
The order regarding the change in the operational method of x-ray of cargo (Aviation Security Service (AVSEC) Order no. 11/2015) states that before delivery to air carrier, all cargo processed at the terminals shall be subject to 100% X-Ray screening at piece level. This decision of screening cargo on a piece level basis is a cumbersome task, which requires more manpower, security staff and x-ray machines, said Multani.
The catastrophic effect causes high congestion at the airport due to slow cargo clearance at piece level, average time for a shipment has increased from 12 hours to 1-2 days, shippers have to pay higher demurrage, staff of the shippers has to work for a long shift to clear the order and even some export orders are getting affected, said Multani.