India is witnessing growth in volumes of pharma, perishables, healthcare, high-tech, and aerospace. The carrier will continue to tap on the potential from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Hyderabad, despite the global economic slowdown affecting the business, says David Shepherd, CEO, IAG Cargo.
CT Bureau
Kindly tell us about IAG Cargo’s growth in Indian market?
Out of India, IAG Cargo has flown 40,000 metric tonnes of business out of the five airports that we serve across the country. Currently, Mumbai is our biggest freight station, soon to be followed by Delhi. We are also eyeing Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru too, as demand for our services increases across these cities.
The world seeks to ship to India. Tell us about IAG Cargo’s ongoing trade with India?
India has been the most consistent and strong performer within our global network. Its consistency is likely driven by the diversification of the manufacturing base into all the main verticals and sectors that we would operate in and are critical to our business. India sees strong volumes in pharma, perishables, healthcare, high tech, automotive, and aerospace. India is a strong player, and that is probably why it remains one of our largest markets.
What are the key commodities being moved to and from India?
In terms of commodities, we are seeing everything from pharma to mobile phones and SIM cards to car components. You name it, India produces it, and we have a product to cater for its requirements. The sheer diversity of the manufacturing base in India therefore makes it a strong player in terms of filling our capacity. We would love to add more capacity to the Indian market, especially under a new air services pact between the UK and India.
How would you rate infrastructure in India for cargo movement?
The infrastructure has seen vast improvement in the last 10-15 years. The airports and road infrastructure, critical to the logistics sector, have undergone a sea change.
Tell us about IAG Cargo’s infra for perishables or heavy load cargo?
We have completed a €100 million investment at our specialized premium handling facility at London Heathrow allowing us to handle pharma in a way that we never have done before and double the capacity for our premium product. We can now handle passive pharmaceuticals with the capability to break and build loose consignments in a fully temperature controlled environment. We are delighted that the country with the single largest volume processed through this facility is India.
Do you think the global economic slowdown has slowed down trade here?
On a global basis it has. Not only have we seen interest rates grow across the globe, which has dampened business capability as well as consumer demand, but we have seen big shocks with what is happening in the Middle East, with the continuing Israeli-Gaza conflict, and the Russia-Ukraine war.
The supply side of the air cargo industry has never been this high: in terms of the amount of available cargo tonne kilometers in the global market. The airlines are moving towards achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and adopting sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This is good news.
Tell us about IAG Cargo’s initiatives towards reducing emissions?
We are committed to the Net Zero carbon journey. IAG was the first airline group in the world to commit to this journey by 2050. Our freight forwarding partners are involved in procuring SAF for their operations. But the issue remains: the SAF production will lag as the demand for the same needs to grow.
