News / Good news for India's booming air cargo sector as freighters take off at NMIA

Photo: Adani /Navi Mumbai

Freighter and belly capacity is gathering pace at Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), Adani Group’s newest flagship investment in India, which opened to commercial business late last year.

Cathay Cargo this month became the first to announce international freighter services out of NMIA from next month, with indications that the Hong Kong-based airline intends to develop the gateway as its Mumbai hub, shifting from the old city airport and its prolonged disruption due to infrastructure upgrades.

Adani Airport Holdings had told cargo stakeholders no freighter slots would be available at Mumbai from next month until May 2027.

And Cathay is not alone in trying to build a cargo footprint at NMIA. Tata Group-owned Air India began international cargo operations last week via bellyhold shipments to Abu Dhabi on its twice-weekly passenger service.

Air India said the Navi Mumbai service launch reflected its “dual airport strategy”, claiming the new air cargo infrastructure offered a “seamless cold chain experience” for its first temperature-controlled shipment.

“Fresh produce was transported to the airport in refrigerated vehicles, stored in temperature-controlled facilities before loading, and prepared for export in accordance with prescribed handling protocols for perishable cargo,” it said.

Airlines have suffered perennial capacity issues at Mumbai, so industry sources are betting high on NMIA, which features a large integrated air cargo terminal, with some 36,000sq metres for domestic cargo and some 25,500sq metres for international cargo.

Current estimates are that the terminal could handle 800,000 tonnes of cargo in the first phase of operations, scaling up to around 3m tonnes in phases.

According to industry sources, its automated ‘truck slot management’ system is a key air cargo service differentiator at NMIA.

The digital platform, integrated within the airport’s cargo community system run by Kale Logistics Solutions, enables logistics providers to pre-book specific time slots for truck arrivals, substantially reducing truck turnaround times and alleviating terminal congestion during peak hours.

Kale co-founder and director Vineet Malhotra told The Loadstar: “By enabling digital slot bookings, intelligent scheduling and real-time co-ordination between freight forwarders, transporters, ground handlers, and terminal operators, the solution streamlines cargo movement, reduces vehicle dwell times, improves resource utilisation and enhances the overall efficiency of the cargo terminal.”

With the necessary regulatory permissions in place, bonded trucking services are also set to go live soon at NMIA, sources said.  Bonded trucking by customs-accredited over-the-road carriers is an integral part of multimodal operations, as government policymakers and industry stakeholders work to lower logistics costs and shorten cargo wait times at gateway terminals.

“More airlines will surely start operations once bonded trucking services are available to connect cargo between the two airports,” Mumbai-based industry veteran Joy John told The Loadstar.