Cargo handling terminals at 24 airports

Air cargo handling terminals will be developed at 24 airports, identified by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Lavasa reviewed the functioning of AAI Wednesday and asked it to develop domestic cargo terminals throughout the country, an official statement said.

Currently, air cargo represents about ten percent of the airline industry's revenue. About 35 percent of all goods traded internationally are transported by air.

The ministry had setup a working group to study the air cargo logistics in India and had released the report in May 2012.

The report had envisaged a strong relationship between growth in international trade and logistics infrastructure.

During 2013-14, all airports taken together handled two million tonnes of cargo.

According to AAI, the freight traffic at a growth rate of five percent by 2017-18, is expected to touch 2,796 thousand tonnes and at a growth rate of 8.2 percent beyond 2017-18, it is forecast to touch 4,142 thousand tonnes by 2022-23.

Recently, the AAI undertook development of cargo terminal buildings at Coimbatore and Trichy.