From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Aug 13: The Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (BIAL), which operates the Kempegowda International airport, has processed 71,406 tonnes of cargo during months of April to July registering a 79 per cent growth in cargo air traffic movement.

The 71,406 tonnes cargo included 6,194 perishables and 2,300 tonnes of pharma supplies besides 341 tonnes of COVID 19 related cargo.

The Kempegowda International Airport recorded a total of 2,990 cargo air traffic movements and 38,000 international passengers during the months of April to July.

While international cargo throughout was 51,728 mt, domestic was 19,678 mt during this period.

Of this, perishables, including 507 mt of mangos, were delivered to 31 international destinations.

Apart from perishables and pharma supplies, the other freight processed during this period included electronic and engineering equipment, spares and readymade garments.

Before the pandemic, BIAL’s volumes were distributed between freight and passenger aircraft in a 40:60 ratio.

However, the lockdown and subsequent restrictions on international scheduled passenger flights impacted cargo movements.

Several airlines commenced ‘cargo-only’ flights using passenger aircraft to bolster depressed global airfreight capacity and drive a spike in cargo demand.

About 40 per cent of BIAL’s cargo during the period April to July was transported by Passenger-to-Cargo (PTC: Passenger flights ferrying cargo) aircraft. As a result, the airport recorded more than 2,990 cargo air traffic movement registering a 79 per cent growth over the same period last year.

In addition, BIAL processed 341 mt of COVID-19-related cargo from March to July.

Highlights:

• Oman Air set a new record by uplifting 49,593 kg of perishable cargo from BLR Airport in June. This is the highest ever PTC uplift on an A330-300 single aircraft for both Oman Air as well as BLR Airport. The uplift included vegetables, hatching eggs, fruits and other perishables.

• Emirates SkyCargo created a record, lifting 73,928 kgs on a Boeing 777-300ER Passenger to Cargo (P2C) aircraft at BLR Airport; this was a record across its network. The consignment included pharmaceuticals, garments and machinery

• DHL handled their highest tonnage of 1,461 mt in the month of June 2020. This is their highest tonnage in a month since their inception at BLR Airport in June 2020.

• FedEx handled their highest tonnage of 1,385 mt in the month of June 2020. This is their highest tonnage in one month since their inception at BIAL.

Live Organ Transportation:

BIAL’s Menzies Aviation Bobba Bangalore Cargo Terminal handled a “Live Human Organs (LHO)” shipment during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Lufthansa Cargo carried the shipment, which included human blood stem cells and bone marrow to Bengaluru from Frankfurt on May 1, and a similar package was exported back to the same destination on May 16. LHO consignments are handled with great care and handed over to the Captain of the aircraft as C/O (Care Of) crew for special care. The pre-information of such consignments is provided at the destination. On landing at the destination, the Captain must deliver the consignment on priority to the handling agency.

There is no special temperature requirement for such consignments as the box is equipped with the required gel pack to maintain temperature. LHOs are generally accompanied by a certified courier (a person carrying the consignment on board a flight), but due to a ban on passenger flights during this lockdown period, freighters were used to transport this precious package.

Ornamental Fish:

BIAL processed a special consignment of 24,200 exotic ornamental fish from Thailand in July.

With approvals from Indian Customs & the Animal Quarantine Services, Bengaluru, the Bettasplendens and Flower Horn fish were sent to their new home in Kozhikode, Kerala.

BIAL Facilitates Safe Transit of 38k International Passengers

BIAL facilitated safe transit of 38,896 international passengers between April 1 and July 31. This includes 174 evacuation flights, repatriating 14,857 passengers from India and 186 Vande Bharat Mission flights, bringing 24,039 passengers from abroad. The Vande Bharat Mission commenced from May 7, 2020.

July witnessed the highest number of 87 evacuation fights carrying 7,232 passengers from BIAL.

For the first time, BIAL facilitated evacuation flights from 11 new cities which included Auckland, Baku (Azerbaijan), Baghdad, Cairo, Incheon, Kuwait, Nigeria, Paro (Bhutan), Rome and Stockholm and Tbilisi (Georgia).