Qatar Airways is eyeing India as biggest air freight hub in South Asia and is bullish on promoting Delhi as the node after Doha as the commercial hub in the Middle East.
"Delhi has one of India's largest and fastest growing retail industries. On top of that, it is an important commercial capital in Asia," Ulrich Ogiermann, Chief Officer (Cargo), told The Pioneer. Qatar Airways Cargo last week started operating its the weekly service between Doha and Delhi, using the Airbus A330 freighter alongside the two daily passenger flights.
Even as Delhi International Airport has long desired to be an international airtraffic gateway for South Asia for both passenger and freight services, yet infrastructure bottlenecks and its low rank in meeting international parameters laid down by ICAO and IATA has placed it at an disadvantage. "Qatar Airways Cargo has identified opportunities that will continue to strengthen ties with India, but also enable Qatar to act as a hub connecting East and West," Ogiermann added. With geographical advantage, India is well placed to capitalize on becoming a regional air cargo hub. This is particularly so as neighboring countries like Sri lanka and Bangladesh have a sizeable international trade with Europe and US but they have limited direct connectivity to US and Europe.
The barriers towards making India as an international freight hub however is largely in the form of process and procedural hurdles, says MOCA. lack of proper infrastructure becomes the major roadblock in efficient cargo handling in the Indian air cargo market. Cargo warehousing facilities are not up to standards at India's major airports, and most of these amenities are restricted to international freight, it says.
"Domestic cargo operations have been largely limited because of non-availability of warehousing space in the Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities," say industry analyst. "Very few private market participants have the license to operate bonded warehouses limiting the flow of investment" they say. Currently, India is upgrading its major airports, which account for 93 percent of the total international and 84.4 percent of the total domestic freight handled. The move, reportedly, is expected to satisfy international standards and provide world-class airports for business and the tourist industry.
Dwell time for import and export cargo at Indian airports is 3 to 5 days as compared to an average of 6 to 12 hours in other leading international airports. The state of customs clearing and delivery of cargo has remained a rough ride for cargo operators. Public-private partnerships (PPPs) at the major air cargo hubs are helping to develop the infrastructure according to international standards and increase the profit margins, says MOCA.
A working group report submitted earlier by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) forecasts that the total cargo throughput through Indian airports would increase by as much as 7.6 times by 2032 growing at a CAGR of 11.2 per cent. Domestic cargo throughput is estimated to increase by 7.2 times at an CAGR of 10.42 per cent while international is estimated to grow by 11.7 per cent and by 7.5 times in the same period.
MOCA also suggests that there is a need for an Inter-Ministerial Group that can steer through the reforms suggested in this report since a range of Ministries and Departments in center and in the states besides local bodies are connected with the air cargo sector.