181 tonnes of Pomegranates exported from Bengaluru airport

Bengaluru: Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL), popularly known as Kempegowda International Airport, has exported 181 tonnes of pomegranates from April to August 2020, to emerge as the leading airport for pomegranate exports from India.

According to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), BIAL Airport also accounted for 99 percent of the total pomegranate exports from Karnataka, data showed.

The fruit was exported to 12 different international destinations, by nine global freight carriers as Air France, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Turkish Airlines.

"Powered by superior logistics and backed by two reputed cargo terminal operators – Air India SATS and Menzies Aviation Bobba Bangalore, BIAL Airport plays a key role in ensuring that products reach their destinations in good condition. To retain their freshness, perishables are stored, cleared and moved to the aircraft on priority, with the required temperature controls in place, therefore reducing dwell time at terminals" BIAL authority claimed.

The cargo infrastructure has been built to ensure the rapid distribution of perishable cargo, making BIAL the preferred cargo airport in South India.

Bengaluru airport has a dedicated cold zone – AISATS CoolPort - with the capacity to handle 40,000 MT per annum and temperature zones ranging from -25 to +25 degrees Centigrade, under the same roof and Menzies Aviation Bobba Bangalore, with the capacity to handle 20,000 MT per annum.