International air cargo operations to begin from Bhubaneswar airport

Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) will offer international air cargo handling services starting January 27, said Customs Commissioner Deepak Arora on Tuesday.

He informed that after having received the request from Airport Authority of India (AAI), they will resume international air cargo from the city airport.

The Airport Authority has already earmarked a hall adjacent to the domestic air cargo terminal for the purpose of international air cargo terminal, he added.

A meeting was held under the chairmanship of MSME secretary L.N. Gupta here on Tuesday.

The representatives of various export associations like Seafood, Agro Food Processing Industries, Handloom and Handicrafts exporters, spice exporters  etc. indicated that it will be highly beneficial for the industry and trade to get  the facility of dispatching of cargo from Biju Patnaik International Airport instead of  the current practice of sending cargo by road via Hyderabad or Kolkata.

Representatives of different airlines like Indigo, Vistara, and Air India were asked to publish a schedule for dispatching cargo to various international destinations in middle-east, far-east and European countries as per the requirements of exporters within seven days both for the perishable and non-perishable items.

The representatives of the airlines agreed to do so at the earliest possible.