The Cochin Customs Brokers’ Association (CCBA) sent a letter to the Chief Minister of Kerala to request for guidelines to undertake export/import clearance under lockdown period at Cochin Port. Like other parts of the country most of the factories are closed down and inter-state transportation is also blocked due to nationwide lockdown. In this letter, Alan Jose, President, CCBA and Vice Chairman, Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI), sought clarifications from the CM on the following: • Can Custom Brokers (CBs) staff travel around freely as most of them are commuting from nearby districts, because local police are restricting movement due to lockdown? They would possess ID Cards of ports, customs or ICTT (DP World) and an authorisation letter from CBs. • Other employees, drivers, etc. of CBs have to visit or contact various offices; customs, port, CFSs, ICTT, PQ, FSSAI, etc. for collecting various documents or certificates. Will relaxation in travelling be given to them by local authorities? What document should they produce for free movement in and around the state? • If the employees are travelling, they are more susceptible to the Corona infection as they are coming into contact with many people. Whether all the above-mentioned government and private offices, CFSs, ports terminal, etc. will be taking ample precautionary measures to protect the personnel entering their premises. According to Jose, “In Kochi CFSs, Empty Container Yards, DP World Terminal, Customs Documentation Center etc. are within a 1 km radius which could potentially become a hotspot for COVID-19 if it enters this circuit.” He also highlights that CBs staff would be travelling and interacting with various people in the whole logistics chain, and under the current …

Highlighting the certain problems faced by FFFAI members, AV Vijaykumar, Chairman, FFFAI says, “One of the main issues is of stepping out of house and travel. Many states are strict in enforcing curfew and hence it is difficult for custom brokers to carry out their day to day work. Whereas, some states are moderate that mobility to a limited extent is permitted. While it is required to obtain a pass or permit to travel, there is neither set procedure nor clarity on the authority that will issue such pass or permits. This is done by some states online while others follow manual system.” Operations at port, airport, CFSs, ICDs across various cities have been adversely affected due to minimum workforce available on account of travel restrictions. Even though Customs have declared 24X7 working but they are functioning with very minimum staff/officers. Majority of shipping lines and NVOCCs have adopted work from home thereby limiting their normal work. Unlike most other professions where online processing and work from home concept is possible, our profession requires manual presence of our staff at various stages and locations. This is avoidable exposure and is contrary to the appeal of the Prime Minister for social distancing. The Federation has suggested that the entire process of clearance and handling of cargo, be it customs or others, should be system driven to avoid human intervention. To achieve this target of paperless processing entirely, it will take some time to accomplish. Another major issue faced is lack of transports/trucks. Most of drivers of vehicles operated in different parts of the country have travelled back to their native places to protect themselves and their family. This is one of …

With the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) permission of cargo operations using existing passenger category aircraft, Hyderabad airport handled its first international shipment of essential supplies with Qatar Cargo QR 8311. The same aircraft uplifted 28 tonne of essential supplies from Hyderabad and departed to Doha, on the same day, and connected the shipments from thereon to other corners of the globe. SGK Kishore, CEO, GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL), said, “Extraordinary situations require extraordinary solutions. The DGCA permission has opened a window of opportunity for the aviation community to leverage the fleet of idled passenger aircraft to help meet the desperate need for air cargo capacity to carry essential medicines and other supplies across the globe during this moment of global crisis. Having successfully handled the first such flight to operate into Hyderabad under the new DGCA guidelines, we remain committed to supporting continued operations of our nation’s air cargo lifeline in the days to come.” Hyderabad International Airport has been categorised as one of the 6 national hubs under Government of India’s ‘Lifeline Udan’ arrangement for operating medical cargo lifelines for the nation in this hour of crisis and GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo and GHIAL are working round the clock in close coordination with the customs, ground handlers, forwarders, CHAs (Customs House Agents), regulators, state Police, cargo trade associations, to keep the critical chain of essential supplies viz. medicines, vaccines, medical equipment, pharma raw material, defense goods, banking documents etc. up and running even through the lockdown. With around 200 dedicated and highly motivated personnel working in a shift, Hyderabad Air Cargo is ensuring all these essential supplies are properly handled and timely cleared. At present, GMR …

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Air India have worked closely with China to establish a cargo air-bridge between the two countries for transfer of critical medical supplies. The first cargo flight between India and China was operated by Air India carried 21 tonnes of critical medical supplies from China. On the domestic front, 116 flights have been operated by Air India, Alliance Air, IAF, Pawan Hans and private carriers, under Lifeline UDAN and 79 of these flights have been operated by Air India and Alliance Air. Cargo transported till date is around 161 tons. Aerial distance covered by Lifeline Udan flights till date is over 112,178 km. The ministry informs that special focus has been given to the North East Region (NER), island territories and the hill states. MoCA, Air India and IAF have collaborated closely for last mile deliveries to Ladakh, Dimapur, Imphal, Guwahati and Port Blair. Bulk of the cargo comprises light-weight and voluminous products like masks, gloves and other consumables, that require more space on the aircraft per ton. Special permission has been taken to store cargo in the passenger seating area and overhead cabins, with due precautions. The Lifeline Udan flights are being operated despite significant logistical challenges in road transportation of cargo to and from airports; production bottlenecks and in the movement of aviation personnel. Domestic Cargo Operators SpiceJet, Blue Dart and Indigo are operating cargo flights on a commercial basis. Spicejet operated 166 cargo flights from 24 March to April 4, 2020 covering a distance of 2,23,241 km and carrying 1,327 tonnes of cargo. Out of these, 46 were international cargo flights. Blue Dart operated 52 domestic cargo flights, covering a distance of …

As part of India’s war against COVID-19, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India has launched ‘lifeline Udan’ flights for movement of medical and essential supplies across the country and beyond. Under the Udan initiative of Ministry of Civil Aviation, 74 flights have been operated till date for transporting medical cargo across the country. A total of 37.63 tonne of cargo has been transported till date out of which more than 22 tonne has been transported on March 31, 2020. A dedicated medical air cargo related website has been launched and is fully functional from today. Domestic cargo operators; Blue Dart and Spicejet are operating cargo flights on commercial basis. On March 31, following flights were operated: Lifeline 1: Air India flights; Mumbai to New Delhi to Guwahati to Mumbai carried consignments of Meghalaya, Assam, ICMR, consignment of Nagaland, Arunachal, and Pune Lifeline 2: Air India flights; New Delhi to Hyderabad to Trivandrum to Goa to Delhi. It carried consignments of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, ICMR. Lifeline 3: Alliance Air flight; Hyderabad to Bengaluru to Hyderabad carried consignment of Ministry of Textiles. Lifeline 4: Air India flight; Chennai to Port Blair to Chennai Lifeline 5: IAF flight; Hindon (Delhi) to Port Blair via Sulur

The cargo flights were operated to carry medical supplies to Southern, eastern and north eastern regions on 30th March 2020. Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) shares the below details: Lifeline 1- Air India flight A320 on its route Mumbai-New Delhi-Bengaluru-Mumbai, carried HLL consignment of 6593 kg and Nagaland ventilator masks, consignments of Kerala and Karnataka, consignment of Bipaps for Meghalaya and consignment of Ministry of Textiles for Coimbatore. Lifelines 2- IAF flight from Hindon- Dimapur- Imphal-Guwahati carried consignments of HLL and ICMR kits for Shillong. Private airlines such as Indigo, Spicejet and Blue Dart are also operating flights on commercial basis. MoCA group was formed with important stakeholders. Hub & spoke lifeline services were started. Cargo Hubs have been created at Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata. Hubs feed to spokes at Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Agartala, Aizwal, Imphal, Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram. Total cargo load carried from 26th to 29th March 2020 was 10 Tonnes. The cargo essentially covered COVID-19 related reagents, enzymes, medical equipment, testing kits & PPE, masks, gloves & other accessories of HLL & cargo requisitioned by State/UT Governments. A dedicated Medical Air Cargo related website has been launched and is functional. This website will be fully functional from 1st April, 2020. The link is available on the MoCA website (www.civilaviation.gov.in). The information sharing, answering of queries and the work at ground is going on round the clock for delivering the supplies to the destinations in a timely manner so that the efforts to fight the COVID 19 are multiplied and supplemented.

The airport has suspended all the commercial passenger flights until April 14 midnight with the recent directive by the Government of India. However, the airport continues to remain operational with a curtailed staff of over 500 personnel working endlessly for vital cargo operations and emergency evacuation flights, if any at the same time safeguarding safety precautions at the airport. To cater to the greater need of mobilizing and supplying essential commodities across India and the world, the airport is operating its cargo handling activities. The items include pharmaceutical goods, medical equipment, which are approved by the regulatory bodies and customs.

The Hyderabad International Airport has been shut for international and domestic traffic for the last few days. However, air cargo services are operational to keep the vital link of essential supplies alive and operational round the clock. The airport is handling 11 freighters weekly along with some special cargo charters, which are connecting Hyderabad with all major international destinations in the United States of America, European countries, Middle-east, Africa, Far East, etc. – moving emergency supplies. About 100 tonnes of export and import cargo is being witnessed at the airport. Out of this over 70 per cent consignment belongs to pharma and essential products. Some of the key Pharma companies, which are using the cargo services include – Dr. Reddys Laboratories, Aurobindo Pharma, Mylan Laboratories Limited, Hetero Drugs, Divis Laboratories Limited, MSN Pharma, Pfizer, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Natco Pharma, among others. Approx. 40-50 trucks which includes bonded trucking, temp-controlled trucks and general cargo trucks, are coming to Hyderabad Airport for consignment delivery and lift-off daily. With around 200 dedicated and highly motivated personnel working in a shift, Hyderabad Air Cargo is operating round the clock to ensure all these essential supplies are properly handled and timely cleared. The personnel include GMR cargo staff, Customs officials, Regulatory Agencies, Ground handlers, Freight Forwarders, CHAs among others.

The government has asked all the shipping companies not to collect any detention charges on export-import cargo in the wake of the situation arising due to coronavirus outbreak. Delays were reported in evacuation of goods from ports due to disturbance in the downstream services. “In order to maintain proper supply lines at the Indian seaports, the shipping lines are advised not to impose any container detainment charge on import and export shipments for the period from March 22, 2020 to April 14, 2020 (both days inclusive),” says the advisory issued by Directorate General of Shipping. During this period, shipping lines are also advised not to impose any new or additional charges, it said adding the decision is purely a one-time measure to deal with the present disruptions caused by spread of COVID-19. “Government is taking all-round actions to fight against COVIDー19 and its negative impacts on the economy,” says Mansukh Lal Mandaviya, Union Minister of State for Shipping, Government of India.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a set of instructions for safely operating this crucial service with all cargo flight allowed in the Indian skies. The DGCA circular for cargo operation says, “All personnel involved with cargo operations to be made aware of the importance of ensuring adequate distance (minimum 1-1.5 metres) at all work stations. All personnel dealing with cargo operations will be provided with personal protective equipments like masks, gloves, etc. All agencies shall ensure that repeated disinfection of common working areas is carried out at timely intervals.”