General worldwide freight dealt with by airports rose 18.4 per cent to five.68 lakh metric tonnes within the first quarter of FY25. All the main airports reported progress together with Delhi (24 per cent ), Mumbai (12 per cent), Bengaluru (25.4 per cent), and Chennai (10 per cent).
Whereas there was a base affect too as the identical quarter final yr noticed worldwide cargo progress flat, the expansion charge recorded was almost double that witnessed on a full-year foundation in fiscal 2024.
“Now we have seen time-sensitive shipments shift from sea path to air. The development has been witnessed since February and largely consists of commercial items, auto elements, equipment, and many others. certain for Europe and the US,” mentioned Venkatesh Iyer, Vice President (Business), Sharaf Cargo Non-public Ltd.
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“Cargo vessels are taking as much as three additional weeks to succeed in Europe through Cape of Good Hope. Moreover, there’s a scarcity of containers, so reserving sea freight has develop into a problem for exporters. Consequently, air freight charges have doubled between India and Europe during the last yr,” Iyer added.
Sea ports deal with round 90 per cent of India’s commerce by quantity and 70 per cent of its commerce by worth. The federal government insists there isn’t any acute scarcity of containers in India, and the primary quarter of FY25 noticed a 4 per cent progress in port site visitors.
But, even a marginal shift of site visitors from sea to air is boosting cargo volumes and yields for airways.
“The Crimson Sea disaster has pushed robust progress for air cargo, however that is primarily benefitting carriers who’ve capability into Europe and past. The one wide-body capability that IndiGo has on this class is to Istanbul, and we now have tremendously benefitted from this,” mentioned Mark Sutch, the airline’s Chief Business Officer in command of cargo. Nevertheless, on an total foundation, the affect of the Crimson Sea disaster on IndiGo is restricted, as most of its capability is on home and regional worldwide routes.
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Air India has seen a double-digit progress in quantity and yields, a supply mentioned. Quantity progress is especially robust on its flights to Germany, the UK, and the US.
A part of the explanation for the surge in site visitors this yr is the subdued industry-wide progress of final yr. Loads of capability that went out of the market throughout Covid-19 was reinstated, which depressed masses and yields.
Worldwide airways too are reaping the advantages of excessive demand. German provider Lufthansa mentioned it’s seeing notably robust cargo progress on the India-to-Europe route. “In 2024, market analysts basically anticipate a near-double-digit progress charge on this route in comparison with the earlier yr, and over the following yr, anticipate an above-average annual progress charge as nicely,” Lufhansa Cargo mentioned in an emailed response.
Sutch mentioned the expansion outlook stays robust, and IndiGo not too long ago launched a thrice-weekly freighter service to Ezhou in China. “Now we have made important strides in our freighter operations with day by day utilisation now hitting round 8-9 hours per plane in comparison with two hours final yr,” he mentioned.
Different international carriers are additionally adjusting their freighter capacities and hanging new partnerships to faucet progress from Asia. Air France KLM cargo has pulled out a freighter from the Latin America route and launched a service to Hong Kong. The airline can be working a freighter between Paris and Mumbai and final month signed an settlement with IndiGo whereby the 2 airways will feed one another’s flights. “India is a strategic progress marketplace for us, and having a powerful associate in India is a superb constructing block in our community technique,” mentioned Gertjan Roelands, Senior Vice President (Business), Air France KLM Martinair Cargo.
Qatar Airways, too, plans to maneuver its freighter capability from the Americas to deal with Asia and India, with some additional capability to Europe, its Chief Cargo Officer, Mark Drusch, instructed Air Cargo Information final week.
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