Mumbai airport handled 707 tonnes of export cargo and 286 tonnes of imports in a single day on Wednesday, the highest ever at the airport.
Despite transport constraints and stringent regulations due to COVID-19, the team at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has kept the cargo terminal operational round the clock, officials said. The airport had recorded an import record of 270 tonnes last week, they said.
Since March 23, Mumbai airport air cargo has exported 5,200 tonnes of medicines, medical equipment, vaccines, diagnostic reagents, dangerous goods, engineering goods and chemicals, while 3,324 tonnes of freight was imported. Imports have included high volumes of commodities such as pharmaceuticals, dangerous goods, engineering goods and chemicals.
“CSMIA air cargo has traded a total of 3,788 tonnes of pharma products within India and globally, as the airport holds the first rank for pharma cargo operations in the country,” a Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (MIAL) spokesperson said.
On an average, Mumbai airport witnesses eight to nine cargo flights per day with export flights operating mainly to the U.S., Germany, South Africa, France and the United Kingdom. Scheduled freighters and ad hoc cargo charters have continued to remain operational during the lockdown.
“The cargo operations continue to work tirelessly, with skeletal staff, to process the export-import cargo movements. In coordination with the Mumbai Police and BEST, special passes have been issued, and transportation has been arranged for facilitating staff commute to the airport," the MIAL spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said CSMIA was providing masks to staff. Regular sanitisation and disinfecting the cargo facility, daily briefing on social distancing and safety precautions along with addressing medical emergencies are some of the initiatives being implemented at the airport and cargo complex.
