Air Cargo Business of Indian Carriers

Not only passenger traffic, but air cargo traffic is also growing at a brisk pace for Indian carriers. As per the DGCA, domestic air cargo that was about seven lakh tonnes in 2017-18, grew at about nine per cent year-on-year, a rate much higher than in the previous two years. Also, Indian carriers have been increasing their share in the rapidly growing international air cargo market as well. In 2017-18, total international air cargo to and from India that was about 17 lakh tonnes, grew by 15 per cent, the fastest in many years. And the share of Indian carriers grew to 20.5 per cent in 2017-18, up from 16.9 per cent in 2015-16.

The healthy growth has continued in the current fiscal year too. In the period from April to August 2018, domestic air cargo carried has grown about 13 per cent, while international air cargo ferried by Indian carriers, has increased by about six per cent year-on-year .The trend seems to be set to continue as the air cargo market in the country has high potential fuelled by factors such as the e-commerce boom and sectors such as pharma that have quick transportation requirements. Rating agency ICRA says that with expected growth in the economy, the air cargo traffic in India is expected to grow by around 60 per cent to 4.7 million tonnes in the next five years, translating into a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.7 per cent.