PUNE: Six months after international cargo export facility got off to a start at Pune airport, it seems to have finally caught tailwind.
Two more airlines — Air India and Jet Airways — are keen to board the cargo bandwagon.
To date, SpiceJet had been the lone airline carrying cargo from the airport to Dubai.
Air India sources said that cargo facility will start in a month's time after they receive a nod from the company's regional headquarters in Mumbai.
"We have been working on the same for sometime now and are in the last phase of getting approval from our regional headquarters. The approval is likely to reach us in less than a month's time with most formalities having been completed. After receiving the same, we will start the process of exporting cargo from the facility to Dubai. We have been keen on starting the same and it is going to happen very soon," an Air India official.
The Pune airport currently operates four international flights — two to Dubai (Air India and SpiceJet), one to Abu Dhabi (Jet Airways) and one to Frankfurt (Lufthansa). The cargo export facility was started near the airport premises in June last year.
"Out of the four airlines operating international flights from Pune, only SpiceJet carries cargo from the airport to Dubai. On an average, the airline carries 430kg of cargo every day. We have plans to enhance the facility but will wait for some more time until the expectation level is reached. While SpiceJet has started carrying cargo, Air India will soon follow suit, so will Jet," an airport official pointed out
Jet Airways sources told TOI that they too will begin the services soon. The officials said that the final process and formalities were being worked out.
Asked about international cargo import facility, another airport official said, "We need space in the form of more land. But if the state government can provide us land, we will surely take up the matter and the import facility will be created. There is also a plan to create an integrated cargo terminal," the official said.
Anant Sardeshmukh, director general of the Marhatta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), said that the start of the facility has been fairly decent.
"It is not a flying start and a word-of-mouth publicity is needed. However, we do expect that in the coming year, a lot of things pertaining to the airport, including cargo facility, will receive a boost," the official.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com