Navi Mumbai highlights cargo achievements following operational challenges

Recently opened Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) has highlighted its cargo achievements since it welcomed its first flight, while it also tackles operational issues facing its freight operations.

The Indian airport said that between January and September, it has handled 11,853 tonnes of cargo, while it has processed 24 scheduled and chartered international freighters since all-cargo operations started in August.

International airfreight accounts for 54.6% of total cargo throughput, while domestic volumes have a 45.4% share.

“NMIA’s modern airside infrastructure has facilitated immediate adoption by top-tier international and domestic freighter operators,” the airport said in a press release.

“The facility has proven its handling readiness for wide-body and heavy-lift aircraft, including regular operations by the Boeing 777F, Boeing 747-8F, and specialised charters with the Antonov An-124.”

The airport said that Cathay Cargo is operating daily flights; Silk Way West has established Boeing 777 freighter flights to Baku and Hong Kong Air Cargo has also added flights “linking NMIA with critical manufacturing and e-commerce distribution centres across East Asia”.

Navi Mumbai also said that it had managed to handle eight dedicated cargo freighters in a single operating day on 9 October, including Cathay Cargo, Challenge Air, Qatar Airways, Aerologic, AFCOM, MNG Airlines, ASL Airlines, and Atlas Air.

“In addition to scheduled international carriers, the airport’s regular cargo traffic comprises a growing consortium of international and domestic cargo operators, including DHL Aviation, IndiGo, Qatar Airways Cargo, Air India Express, Turkish Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Jiangsu Jingdong Cargo, and SF Airlines,” the airport added.

Operational challenges

While the airport was keen to highlight its successes since opening, there have also been challenges.

Customs brokers have said the airport’s cargo operations have faced operational challenges, while freighter operator Challenge Group announced that it would suspend freighter flights at the airport due to a lack of reliability.

The airline announced it would suspend operations to the airport on 1 October, although one of its Boeing 767 freighters did conduct a flight on 8 October.

Local reports suggest that the airport has responded by adding extra manpower and improving communications with freight forwarders.

The airport also temporarily waived demurrage charges as a gesture of goodwill.

Air Cargo News has contacted airport operator Adani for an update on the airport’s cargo operations.

NMIA opened its doors back in December, but freighter operations did not get underway until 1 August, when an IndiGo freighter took off from the airport.

Freighter operators have been asked to temporarily move their flights from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to NMIA while work is carried out on cargo infrastructure at CSMIA.

The work is expected to take 10 months and was due to start in August.

The airport features temperature-controlled zones catering to GDP-compliant active and passive pharmaceutical storage and agricultural perishables and segregated staging facilities designed for valuable goods, vulnerable electronics, and heavy/oversized industrial cargo.

The airport operator also pointed out that the hub is situated around 14 km from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), meaning it can also be used for sea-air operations.