The Hindu Business Line : `Airport infrastructure is a priority area'

Infrastructure at most of the gateway airports has not kept pace with growth, says Mr Vijay Kondath, President of the Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI), in an interview with Business Line. ACAAI has 479 members across India and is the only body representing IATA-accredited cargo agents nationally.

Excerpts from the interview:

What are the major problems for air cargo?

Infrastructure needs to become a priority area, especially as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has reported that its airports saw an increase of 22 per cent in 2004-05 in cargo handling over the previous year.

As many as 55 airlines are operating out of India and more have shown interest to start services to India. In such a situation, some issues have to be addressed. The dwell time for export shipments on the ground needs to be reduced. ACAAI has made several representations to the Government. The Ministry of Civil Aviation is aware of this and is addressing the problem.

What are the problems on the imports side?

With regard to imports, at the Chennai air cargo complex, for instance, the covered storage area and warehouse for imports are inadequate to cater to the rise in imports by air. Import cargo is left in the open in the cargo apron area due to congestion in the receiving area within the air cargo complex.

This results in theft and pilferage of electronic items. Here again, the infrastructure needs to be put in place by the custodian to store import cargo.

What are the problem areas in air exports?

A major problem facing air exports is that there is no EDI (electronic data interface) interconnectivity among the Customs, the AAI, airlines, agents and shippers. This causes delays in clearance of export shipments.

The basic idea is to evolve a paperless environment. Now each entity operates on independent systems.

At every stage, paper is generated and has to be taken to the next stage to move the cargo. ACAAI reiterates that it cannot operate on standalone systems and unless a community platform, which includes all players in the supply chain, is in place, automation will not deliver efficiencies.

What would be a priority area for you as President of ACAAI?

ACAAI is part of the core committee formed under the chairmanship of the Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation. A priority area is to ensure that infrastructure is in place at all the key airports, ASAP, for air cargo.

We would also urge them to permit private bonded warehouses to decongest the existing air cargo complexes. The infrastructure should be similar to the cargo village in Dubai.

Another priority would be to get industry status for the air cargo industry and also engage the airlines in dialogue for mutual benefit. Training is another important area.

Why is there a shortage in trained manpower in the air cargo business?

The shortage in trained manpower is mainly because of the rapid growth of this business. At the entry level a graduate gets about Rs 5,000 a month.

ACAAI trains for its member through IATA and FIATA on a regular basis every year at its headquarters in Mumbai. This brings in professionalism among the members. The demand for training is constantly on the rise. The airlines too conduct regular training programmes.

What is ACAAI's stand on the draft Shipping Trade Practices Act?

ACAAI has asked the Government to clarify whether marine transportation can be extended to cover air cargo transportation. ACAAI is also seeking clarifications on various sections, as there are contradictions in it.

The growth in air cargo has brought in major integrators such as DHL and FedEx. How has this impacted the freight forwarding business?

Integrators represent a new demand of modern trade. They offer door-to-door, time definitive deliveries while the air cargo agent offers more personalised service.

Pricing and route options and personalised service are strengths of the air cargo agent. The integrator's one-size-fits-all solution may not be the best option for a business, which needs customised solutions.

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`Airport infrastructure is a priority area'