ETW Staff– Mumbai
Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has received the STAT TIMES International Award for Excellence in Air Cargo as an emerging cargo airport in India. This award is yet another addition to the previous two awards won by the airport for its cargo initiatives and efforts in making it the ‘South Indian Cargo Gateway to Global Economies’.
The International Awards for Excellence, are organised by STAT TIMES, an international multimodal transport media house. STAT TIMES has been recognising and awarding excellence in the air cargo industry for the last 26 years.
In the last year the airport’s cargo business has demonstrated a growth of 5.5 per cent, despite a challenging economic environment. Handling one million tonnes of cargo in the past five years, the airport is one of the top cargo hubs in the country. Last year, it handled 23,82,17 MT of cargo. The growth in cargo is a reiteration of the airports commitment to partners across the region. Parallel to this growth, the airport on its western apron inaugurated dedicated cargo bays to serve Freighter aircrafts and further improve the air cargo supply chain. The cargo bays have six dedicated wide body freighter stands with seamless access to the cargo terminal with 100 per cent fuel hydrants equipped with integrated leak detection system.
BIAL partners with Menzies Aviation Bobba Bangalore (MBBA) and Air India Sats for its cargo operations. It caters to Pharmaceuticals, Perishables (F & V), Electronics, Engineering, Machineries, Automobile, Valuables, Textiles, RMG, etc. from all across South India, addressing trade needs from SAARC, Asia including China, Europe, USA and Canada, Oceania and Middle East.
BIAL has invested substantially to develop a world-class cargo infrastructure with state-of-the-art Cargo terminals for faster turnaround. Underlying this growth is the airport’s robust plan and strategic intent to grow the cargo business. With the aim of improving connectivity via Bangalore to various locations across the region, reducing dwell time of total air cargo supply chain and achieving ease of trade, the airport is in continuous conversation with stakeholders, government bodies, airlines, freight forwarders and other entities.
