News / Gulf crisis a blip in India's airfreight growth, claim bullish stakeholders

Photo: IndiGo

Although the Middle East crisis has created growth hurdles for India’s air freight industry, stakeholders remain optimistic about the long-term.

India’s international air cargo volumes declined 6% year on year last month, rattled by airport closures and airline service suspensions across the Persian Gulf, new data rfrom the Airports Authority of India (AAI) reveals.

Demand for air and ocean cargo space typically heats up in March, India’s fiscal year-closing month for exporters. Indeed, for the full fiscal year 2025-26, international trade volumes were up 5.4% year on year, data shows.

By volume, while Delhi Airport continued to be India’s top international airfreight gateway, the year marked rapid strides for Chennai Airport, which reported an impressive 12% freight increase. That’s because Chennai is now India’s hub for electronics exports, with iPhone shipments the main contributor.

But the Middle East crisis hobbled the industry as exporters were recovering from the US tariff gyrations, so the air freight growth pace was expected to slow down.

However, industry representatives see the headwinds as “temporary bumps.”

“The international freight market is primed for a high-value rebound as some of the key Indian hubs like Ahmedabad surged with a 17.6% growth in cargo [fiscal 2025-26],” Jitendra Srivastava, CEO of Mumbai-based Triton Logistics & Maritime, told The Loadstar.

“This regional resilience, combined with a 5.4% annual increase in total freight handled across India, proves that the infrastructure is ready for the next demand wave.”

Amar More, CEO of Mumbai-based Kale Logistics Solutions, added: “The broader outlook for Indian air cargo remains highly positive, driven by robust e-commerce demand, expanding manufacturing exports, pharmaceuticals, perishables, the China-plus-one strategy and continued investments in infrastructure development.”

That said, an impending freighter slot suspension at Mumbai International Airport (MIAL), scheduled for nearly a year from August through May 2027, has the potential to strain air cargo capacity and airline reliability, sources believe. MIAL is India’s second-busiest cargo gateway, so any disruption can have significant repercussions.

But on a broader perspective, Mumbai-based industry veteran Joy John believes “all eyes will now be on fuel prices”, with the UAE deciding to quit the OPEC and OPEC+ frameworks on Friday.

Meanwhile, IndiGo, India’s largest private airline, is raising its cargo ambitions by deploying its freighter fleet “strategically”. Its freight wing, CarGo, operates three – all converted A321s.

The carrier this week opened a thrice-weekly freighter connection between Kolkata, in eastern India, and Kunming in China’s Yunnan province, said to be a gateway hub for the country’s south-west region, promising significant growth.

The new route would provide “strong support for the rapid flow of fresh produce, cross-border e-commerce parcels, and various general commodities between the two regions”, IndiGo said.

The carrier also claimed response to the inaugural flight had been strong — some nine tonnes of Indian crabs into Kunming and some 21.4 tonnes of general goods on the outbound leg.

CarGo handled some 11% more freight last year, after gaining additional belly space from the addition of more international passenger routes.

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