We believe technology is crucial for enabling seamless operations, and hence it is important to continue bringing innovations in technology to enhance cargo operations.

During the pandemic, air cargo volumes witnessed faster recovery, as compared to passenger traffic. The faster recovery in cargo volumes is largely due to transport of essential supplies, besides the e-commerce business. The slow recovery in passenger aircraft traffic, particularly international routes due to various Covid-19 related restrictions, has led to a loss of the earlier available cargo belly capacity, which is impacting overall growth. The easing of restrictions on international passenger operations holds the key to cargo growth.

Facing challenges

One of the challenges for India is that it will have to come up with a framework to measure noise and emissions. Typically at airports, noise and emissions, due to additional movements, are measured on an annual volumes basis, in terms of the number of moments per year. In the last year, the total number of moments has been much lower. We have gone up from probably 12-14 movements a day from a cargo freighter perspective to about 30-35 movements a day. From a passenger movement perspective, we have come down from about 700 movements a day to about 350 movements a day. So, we have actually been far less.

IATA has been very proactive to measure up to the challenges. There is a new regulation, which came into effect last year called IATA 753, which means that passengers will have visibility of their bags at all times. Going forward, more airlines will start giving better visibility to passengers. So, we will have similar regulations governing cargo. It has already been implemented in Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru in the form of the Air Cargo Community System (ACS). ACS is a digital platform that brings together all cargo stakeholders, including customs, customs brokers, shippers, airlines, trucking companies, ground & cargo handlers and freight forwarders, under one roof, facilitating seamless movement of goods and data across the logistics ecosystem.

Owing to multiple stakeholders involved in cargo operations , e ach shipment, on average, requires over 30 types of documents in multiple copies, resulting in significant duplication of documentation, increased dwell time and supply chain disruption. The implementation of ACS eliminates paperwork at the airport, enables faster transaction processing, reduces duplication and streamlines processes, making information available beforehand.

It is essential that airports engage actively with stakeholders and include them in the decision-making process, which is what BIAL has done on a consistent basis. That is why we have not had a problem, from a cargo perspective, in terms of volumes dropping even during Covid-19.

The author is Chief Strategy and Development Officer at BIAL (Bangalore International Airport Ltd.)

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