Air cargo must grow 12.9% annually: Study
“There is an urgent need to uplift the Indian air cargo market to achieve the overall vision of the aviation ministry,” suggests the knowledge report on Civil Aviation and Cargo, jointly conducted by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and consultancy firm Auctus Advisors.
The Indian air cargo industry needs to grow at a rate of about 12.9 per cent every year from 2018 to 2027 to achieve National Civil Aviation Policy’s (NCAP 2016) vision of reaching cargo volumes of 10 million tonnes (MT) by 2027, notes a recent ASSOCHAM-Auctus Advisors joint study.
Projected international and domestic air cargo will be 3.6 MT and 2.1 MT, respectively, resulting in total air cargo traffic of 6.8 MT
The report suggests that international and domestic air freight is projected to grow at an overall Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.2 per cent. “Considering this trend to continue till 2027, projected international and domestic air cargo will be 3.6 MT and 2.1 MT, respectively, resulting in total air cargo traffic of 6.8 MT,” it states.
The study also highlights various issues confronting the aviation logistics sector in India. Lack of enabling infrastructure, lack of automated material handling systems, high manual intervention in processes, and inadequate skilled manpower are some of the key areas where Indian air cargo industry lags behind global peers. “There is an urgent need for creating adequate freight carrying capacity within the Indian air network through creation of new cargo terminals and expansion of existing
ones,” the report states. The ASSOCHAM-Auctus study also suggests implementing a rating system for cargo terminals, in-line with ASQ (Airport Service Quality) ratings at passenger terminal to motivate operators to improve infrastructure and provide a superior quality of service. It also suggests undertaking proactive measures to identify Tier-II and Tier-III cities for setting up Common User Domestic Cargo Terminal (CUDCT). Introduction of a separate comprehensive air cargo policy to reduce bottlenecks in freight movement are also a suggestion of the ASSOCHAM-Auctus study. According an industry status to the Indian air cargo logistics sector would also go a long way in bringing down the current logistics cost and improving efficiency.