The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will begin full-fledged domestic air cargo operations at Mangalore International Airport from April next through a private agency, according to the director of the airport J.T. Radhakrishna.
At present, domestic cargo being handled at the airport terminal building at Kenjar by the AAI consist of parcels and postal articles only. Passenger flights carried them as belly-load cargo. Passenger flights could carry only a limited quantity of cargo and they could not carry all kinds of cargo.
He said that once the facility was opened, all kinds of cargo could be handled for cargo flights. “This would give industries and traders an opportunity to send and receive cargo within India through cargo flights,” he said.
The director said that the AAI has invited e-bids for operation and maintenance of “common user domestic air cargo terminal”. The bids would be opened on January 8, 2015. “Domestic cargo service is scheduled to begin in April 2015, after the tender process,” he said.
Domestic cargo would be handled at a building close to the terminal building at Kenjar. This building, which was called Dakkan Park, with 3.05 acres of private land, was handed over to the AAI by the government sometime ago.
He said that the AAI has permitted four airports in South India — Mangalore, Trichy, Visakhapatnam and Chennai — to have domestic cargo terminals.
He said that the private agency selected would be exempted from paying 13 per cent royalty of the total business to the AAI for two years to attract more cargo to the airport. With this, the agency was expected to put an extra effort to attract cargo.
He said that international cargo would be continued to be handled at the old terminal building at Bajpe by the Airports Authority of India.