Cargo airlines shifting to Navi Mumbai International Airport face major operational hurdles, including equipment shortages and long turnaround times. Challenge Group suspended its services, noting, "The present operational setup does not yet enable us to deliver our cargo services with the level of reliability and certainty we require." Many others struggle.
Cargo carriers shifting operations from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) are facing longer turnaround times, manpower and ground-handling equipment shortages, limited warehousing capacity and commuting challenges.
Freighter operators that have operated from NMIA include National Airlines, Hong Kong Air Cargo, Cathay Cargo, Turkish Cargo, Qatar Airways Cargo, Silk Way West, MASkargo, MNG Airlines, SF Airlines, AIROne, Suparna Airlines, ROMCargo Airlines and Maximus Air. IndiGo CarGo became the first freight carrier at NMIA when it launched operations on August 1.
The operational challenges have prompted Challenge Group to temporarily suspend its Mumbai operations at NMIA.
In a statement, the airline said, "We have made the decision to temporarily suspend our Mumbai operations until further notice."
"Following an assessment of the current operating conditions at NMI, we have determined that the present operational setup does not yet enable us to deliver our cargo services with the level of reliability and certainty we require," it said.
Orr Zak, chief commercial officer, Challenge Group, said, "Moving freighter operations from BOM to NMI was always going to be a major move. There are a lot of moving parts and they all need to work together."
"Right now, around 1,000 tonnes of inbound cargo is sitting on dollies at the airport. With so many dollies tied up, arriving aircraft can't be offloaded and cargo stays on board," Zak said.
Export operations are also affected. "Even when aircraft are finally offloaded, export cargo is either not ready, built incorrectly, or simply isn't released from the warehouse because there aren't enough dollies," he said.
"So you end up with freighters leaving with very little cargo, or even completely empty," he added.
Challenge Group said the suspension was aimed at protecting customers, cargo and supply-chain reliability while it evaluates alternatives to maintain connectivity. It also warned that disruption comes ahead of peak season.
"NMI is much needed and has enormous potential. But having the capacity and being ready to handle it are two different things," Zak said.
Another cargo airline spokesperson said, "We are contemplating moving from CSMIA to NMIA as there are a lot of hurdles, especially much higher turnaround times and also existing manpower, who are reluctant to travel to the new location. The airline might move its operations out of Mumbai entirely and merge it with one of its other cargo hubs in the country."
To encourage freighter connectivity, Adani Airports, along with aviation regulator AERA, has waived aircraft landing charges for the first year. International freighter operators will receive a 90% waiver on landing charges in the first year, followed by a 50% discount in the second year.