The domestic air cargo services at the Vijayawada International Airport will be soon handled by Indigo, one of the leading domestic airlines in the country.
Due to various reasons including the change in certain rules following the directions of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, the current handler of the Common User Domestic Cargo Terminal, Shreepa Logistics Pvt. Ltd is set to end its contract by April 24. For the first time, Shreepa Logistics started operating the cargo terminal on August 1, 2018.
The outbound cargo services came to a halt in January and the Airport Authority of India has roped in SpiceJet to ensure that the transport of perishable goods such as shrimp is not effected.
“SpiceJet will stop transporting shrimp from April 22 as the season ends. Indigo has bagged the contract to handle the cargo terminal and run outbound cargo services. Once the formalities are completed Indigo will start operating,” Vijayawada International Airport director M. Lakshmikanth Reddy told The Hindu.
Due to the hindrances in the cargo services, the quantity of freight handled by the airport came down drastically to 1,209 metric tonnes in 2022-23 (up to February, 2023) compared to 2,264 metric tonnes handled in 2021-22 fiscal year.
Shreepa Logistics managing director Kokali Venkata Rama Rao said they had withdrawn their services and the last operating day would be April 24. He said lack of cooperation from the airport authorities made them take the decision.
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