Category Archives: Aviation

To end its dependency on others, like Rehmankheda in Lucknow, the district Varanasi has taken a step ahead with the efforts to get its own packhouse. The step was taken after the success in export of fresh vegetables and fruit from farms of Varanasi and adjoining region in the markets of Dubai and London. The state government has already sanctioned the construction of a packhouse by mandi parshad in Varanasi and land is been identified in the industrial estate of the UP State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA) in Karkhaiyo area. According to Deepak Agrawal, Divisional Commissioner, Varanasi Divison, “A cold storage of 30 metric tonne storage capacity is already being developed at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport.” He adds, “We have started talks with the officials of Airport Authority of India to allow establishing a temporary packhouse of two to three metric tonne capacity with the same cold storage and after a final decision is taken by the AAI, the temporary packhouse would be made operational till a full-fledged packhouse is established at Karkhioyao.”

GMR Hyderabad International Airport has appointed Pradeep Panicker as the new Chief Executive Officer. Panicker has replaced SGK Kishore in this role. Prior to this, he was the deputy CEO of GHIAL, since January 2018. Before that, he served the GMR Delhi International Airport in different roles and responsibilities for 13 years since he joined in 2004. Prior to this role, Panicker was also associated with Mumbai SEZ Development Company, Feedback Ventures and L&T Finance. Domestic operations have been going on in the GMR-led Hyderabad International Airport, ever since the Centre decided to resume operations of domestic flights.

SpiceJet has added Moscow to its growing international cargo network, operating its maiden cargo flight from Hyderabad to Moscow carrying more than 16 tonnes of pharma supplies. The airline has deployed its Boeing 737 freighter aircraft for this cargo flight to Domodedovo Airport. “Moscow is the latest addition to our fast expanding cargo network which spans over 35 international destinations. We have added six new international destinations in the last 10 days. Since the lockdown began, SpiceJet has operated more than 2200 cargo flights and has carried around 15,700 tonnes of cargo,” says Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet. SpiceJet has operated special cargo flights to and from Abu Dhabi, Almaty, Baghdad, Bahrain, Bangkok, Bishkek, Cambodia, Cairo, Cebu, Colombo, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Huangzhou, Incheon, Jakarta, Kabul, Kathmandu, Khartoum, Kyrgyzstan, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Male, Myanmar, Shanghai, Singapore, Sharjah, Sulaymaniyah, Tashkent, Ukraine, to name a few.

Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) is set to introduce the Air Cargo Community System (ACS) to further streamline air logistics. BIAL has signed an e-agreement with Kale Logistics Solutions to develop the ACS platform which is an effective business continuity tool that BIAL can provide to its cargo stakeholders. “As part of our digital transformation efforts, together with our cargo community, we are excited to implement a data-sharing platform,” said Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy & Development Officer, BIAL. Amar More, CEO, Kale Logistics Solutions, says, “In the digital age, airports must be nimble to manage issues related to security, rising costs, unprecedented lockdowns and curfews. Kale’s ACS for BIAL is a next-gen community platform, which will enable collaboration between stakeholders in the supply chain to launch new services and deliver superior customer experiences.”

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) has announced the first phase of ‘all-India roll out of faceless assessment’. With the objective of speedy clearance, transparency in decision making and ease of doing business, the board decided to implement the next generation reforms in the customs clearance process under ‘Turant’ customs. The Board has decided to begin faceless assessment in phases beginning with Customs stations which already have the experience of the pilot programs. Therefore, the first phase would begin from June 8, 2020 at Bengaluru and Chennai for items of imports primarily covered by Chapters 84 and 85 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The phased rollout plan envisages that Faceless Assessment shall be the norm pan India by December 31, 2020.

A US-based online payment platform for the cargo industry, PayCargo has entered into a partnership with IBS Software to broaden its digital payment network and enable carriers and ground handling companies to digitalise and simplify their payment systems with a substantial reduction in manual efforts. The move will be particularly helpful to PayCargo in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in view of the growing necessity for work-from-home culture and a soaring demand for reliable online freight payment platform solution. For IBS Software, a leading SaaS provider of core IT platforms for the air freight industry, the partnership is part of its ongoing initiatives to enable rapid adoption of digitalization for its customers, including many of the world’s largest airlines and cargo ground handlers.

Considering the challenges faced by trade due to pandemic, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has extended the 24×7 customs clearance facility at all airports and seaports till June 2020 in order to facilitate faster clearance of consignments. “Chief Commissioners are therefore requested to make proper arrangement for the same and deploy sufficient number of officers on 24×7 basis at sea ports, air cargo stations, Inland Container Depot (ICDs), Container Freight Station (CFSs), to name a few falling in their jurisdiction,” says CBIC. In February, CBIC had said 24×7 Customs clearance facility will be available at all sea ports and airports till May 2020 to address any congestion or delay or surge on of the prevailing conditions due to outbreak of COVID-19.

SpiceXpress has planned to use drones for quicker, faster and cost-effective delivery of medical, pharma and essential supplies and e-commerce products. The airline has got the approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to conduct drone trial for essential goods delivery. SpiceXpress will be looking at last-mile delivery from the warehouse and the prime focus will be on delivering medical emergency parcels and essential supplies in remote areas. Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet says, “Testing of drone technology for last-mile connectivity and cost-effective cargo deliveries are a big leap in the air transportation of essential and non-essential supplies in India. We are extremely optimistic about using this exciting new mode of delivery for products like perishables and medicines which have a smaller shelf-life and need urgent deliveries in the remotest parts of India.”

Taking few points from Prime Minister Announcement speech of the relief package, Tushar Jani, President, Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI), says in one of the sessions of CargoTalk second digital conclave, “It is the first time that supply chain has come in forefront and air cargo has proved to the world that this is the reliable arm of supply chain. All air cargo professionals have worked together in saving lot of lives.” He adds, “It is been proved that air cargo is more resilient and agile to come to the challenge within no time. In Covid-19, logistics professionals work like warriors, they are as important as doctors and nurses in the hospitals. They are the ones who are working on the ground to make sure to keep Covid-19 supply coming in.”

Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB or BLR Airport) processed 1,425 Metric Tonnes (MT) of perishable cargo during April 2020. The countrywide lockdown and subsequent blockade of district borders by Karnataka had a significant impact on the movement of cargo. As a result, perishables saw a 49 per cent drop as compared to 2,770 MT processed during the same month last year. This drop was largely owing to restriction on transportation, shortage of farm workers and various other issues faced by farmers and shippers. Doha was the top destination, for perishables from Bengaluru, having received 834 MT, Dubai was second, with 146 MT and London was third at 110 MT. Ten airlines, including two Indian carriers, transported perishables to 28 international destinations. The perishables, which included vegetables and fruits, were transported from various parts of Karnataka.