The common user domestic cargo terminal commissioned at Mangaluru International Airport on Thursday has the potential to handle 2,000 tonnes of cargo a month, according to airport director J.T. Radhakrishna.
Addressing a gathering at a function here on the occasion, he said that the airport now handled 30 domestic aircraft a day. It included 15 arrivals and an equal number of departures. The airlines would have to carry the cargo as belly load as no cargo flight was operating to and from the airport now. Hence, 2,000 tonnes of cargo could be handed by those flights as belly cargo a month.
He said that the cargo terminal would help the trade and industry in the domestic movement of cargo. In addition, it would bring revenue to both the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the airlines handling cargo.
Mr. Radhakrishna said that Mangaluru was among 22 airports in the country permitted by the AAI to have domestic air cargo terminals with cargo handling outsourced to private agencies. Of these, the airport here was the first to get the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) approval and start operations with handling outsourced to Cargo Service Centre India Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai.
Tushar Jani, chairman, Cargo Service Centre India Pvt. Ltd., said that tier II and tier III cities which had airports have the potential for cargo operations.
He hoped that Mangaluru could be able to handle cargo flights after five years as cargo volume could increase by then.
The facility commissioned on Thursday had X-ray machine, explosive-detection devices, closed circuit television camera facility and cubicles for keeping cargo. Explosive detection devices were required to ensure that cargo did not have explosive material. The company has bagged the contract of managing the facility for five years.
Nigam Vasani, president, Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that there was a need to have aircraft MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility in Mangaluru. Srikrishna Rao Kodancha, president, Udupi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that with the opening of the cargo terminal, scope for marketing “Mattu gulla” and jasmine from Udupi has widened.
