Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) Air Cargo has catered to a total of over 169,000 tonnes of cargo during April–August 2020, consisting of approximately 135,000 of international and 34,000 tonnes of domestic cargo. The airport registered a total of 18,820 cargo air traffic movements (ATMs) during the same period and witnessed an air freight growth of a whopping 166% in August as compared to April.
CSMIA is witnessing a shift in the import and export of goods transported through the airport with the gradual increase in the movement of general cargo. Between April–August 2020, CSMIA catered to a total of 72,000 tonnes of general cargo, thus witnessing a growth of 278% by the end of August as compared to April on the total volumes of general products. These include products such as engineering goods and machinery, electricals and electronics, chemicals, dangerous goods, and garments and textiles.
Meanwhile, domestic e-commerce volumes in August 2020 have picked up by 1,236% over June 2020 volumes with the onset of the festive season, and the import of flowers recorded a growth of 6,000% in the month of August in comparison to June.
Airlines like Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates and Turkish Airlines catered to the highest tonnage of general freight. At the same time, Germany, United States of America and China emerged as the most frequent destinations in terms of cargo interactions with CSMIA.
Connecting to more than 500 cargo destinations during pre-COVID, CSMIA’s cargo facility is a gateway for pharmaceuticals, perishables, and engineering goods to India. CSMIA’s air cargo connected to over 400 international destinations with additional new destinations such as Ras Al-Khaimah International Airport (RKT), Bolling Airport (BOF), Rickenbacker International Airport (LCK), Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST), Navoi International Airport (NVI), Koolatah Airport (KOH) and Greensboro Airport (GSO) during this unprecedented time.
International Airlines such as Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian, Etihad, FedEx, and Cathay Pacific along with domestic carriers such as IndiGo and SpiceJet were some of the major airlines that catered in air lifting cargo. Also, airlines such as Alitalia, South African Airways and Philippine Airways operated ad-hoc freighter flights for the first time from CSMIA.
CSMIA is known for innovating solutions inclined towards having greater control over the movement of air cargo in real-time as well as providing efficient transport of goods and introducing the first-of-its-kind concept in the freighter industry. The airport has introduced digitisation through processes– India’s first air cargo community portal ‘GMAX’ and the air cargo mobile application which have resulted in the reduction of cost and time for the stakeholders, as well as boosted the efficiency and agility in cargo operations at the airport.
CSMIA’s GMAX is now compatible for integration with global supply chain digital systems providing stakeholders with a single digital point of access to ensure data accuracy and provide real-time cargo status and updates amongst other benefits. The ease of integration between the platforms allows for a more highly transparent, agile and effective supply chain.
