Visakhapatnam: Air cargo ops allowed for 3 more months
A view of cargo getting loaded into a flight
Visakhapatnam: As per the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) guidelines, air cargo movement in Visakhapatnam Airport was about to come to a grinding halt.
However, in what seems to be relief, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has given another three months of time to handle the air cargo operations from Visakhapatnam.
Following the change in the cargo security screening process by the BCAS, air cargo operations were suspended from Visakhapatnam Airport.
Earlier, the self-screening process of the cargo of all the individual airlines was carried out by their staff and equipment. But as per BCAS guidelines, only a single point airport cargo services screening should be done for all the airlines. However, the Airport Authority of India, cargo department did not have sufficient staff and equipment to continue the service. This has put the process to a halt, creating anxiety among hatcheries associations.
Hatcheries communities of Visakhapatnam, Bhogapuram, Kakinada and Srikakulam have largely been dependent on air cargo for their business. Keeping this in view, representatives of the All-India Shrimp Hatcheries Association regional chapter appealed to Visakhapatnam MP MVV Satyanarayana and requested him to seek permission for the cargo service extension.
Responding to them, the MP wrote a letter to Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia and informed that Visakhapatnam is the ninth largest city in India in terms of GDP and home to a large pharma, textile, food and multi products. He requested the Union Minister to kindly consider his request and allow the air cargo operations for another three months.
According to the recent statistics, 3.22 lakh shrimp seeds were airlifted from Visakhapatnam Airport from February 15 to March 23. In the fiscal year 2020-21, about 13.23 lakh-kg, 2021-22, close to13.27 lakh-kg of shrimps were transported through air cargo.
"Fortunately, the Union Minister agreed upon extension of cargo operation for three months based on the request made by us and the airport authority," the MP said.
Earlier, the Covid-19 pandemic had left a dent in the international cargo service providers. Frequent closure of the domestic operation and international flights and unprecedented pandemic situation had adversely affected the cargo operation at Visakhapatnam Airport. With the airport authorities appointing a few staff and procuring storage equipment for cargo handling, the officials heave a sigh of relief as time has been extended for the cargo movement.