Cargo moved by Indian freighters drops by 7 per cent in the last five years: CRISIL

The quantum of cargo moved by dedicated freighters hardly increased, bringing down their share of the pie from 23 per cent in fiscal 2014 to 16 per cent in fiscal 2019. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, in the five fiscals through 2019, domestic airfreight demand in India logged a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8 per cent to 0.8 million tonnes. During this period, majority of the cargo was transported in aircraft belly. A 14 per cent CAGR spurt in domestic airline capacity provided adequate room to support this growth.

However, the trend is likely to change in the next five years. CRISIL Research expects domestic air freight demand to touch 1.1 million tonnes, cruising at 7-9 per cent CAGR, in the next five fiscals.