CHENNAI : Development of domestic air cargo capacity should be given top priority, as shippers are heavily dependent on foreign carriers for movement of cargo.
This should be one of the main focus areas to be incorporated in the Civil Aviation Policy, say sources in the air cargo industry.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation had last month released a draft policy to get comments from the trade on various issues.
A strong domestic air cargo capacity will augur well with the Centre’s Make in India programme, and will help shippers reduce cost, said B Govindarajan, Chief Operating Officer, Tirwin Management Services (P) Ltd, a consultancy firm on aviation. According to J Krishnan, former President of Air Cargo Agents Association of India, any economic superpower seeks a dominant logistics of their own flag or else this is a serious threat to the economic prosperity.
Unless a nation creates a sustainable and robust home grown international logistics player, the threat of economic security remains constant. With a national player, our exports can move to a CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) terms from the current FoB (Free on Board) term, which indirectly supports the foreign interest.
China has a formidable shipping capacity and a airline network. Cargolux is tied-up with Chinese carriers to ensure regular feed, he said.
Source: dailyshippingtimes.com
