Six Northeast airports to have dedicated freighter services 

GUWAHATI | SEPT 01, 2020: 

The domestic air cargo sector of the North East is set to receive a major boost with the decision to award dedicated freighter services to as many as six airports in the region, at the Airports Authority of India (AAI) cargo terminals from this month onwards.

"Guwahati, a major air hub for transportation and business centre, will now be connected to these services on all weekdays. Apart from this, Imphal in Manipur, Aizawl in Mizoram, Dimapur in Nagaland, Agartala in Tripura and Silchar in Assam will get dedicated freighter services," an official statement issued here, said.

Airports Authority of India's cargo wing, AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Ltd, have come up with separate cargo terminals at many airports, including Guwahati, Imphal, Agartala and Silchar.

ALSO READ: Meghalaya remembers 'jovial' leader Late PA Sangma on his 73rd birth anniversary

"The new services of dedicated air cargo flights are being started by the domestic low-cost carrier Spicejet as SpiceXpress," the statement said.

The cargo services of Spicejet-SpiceXpress will be available on all weekdays on the Kolkata-Imphal and Kolkata-Guwahati sectors. 

Kolkata-Aizawl connecting Aizawl-Dimapur-Guwahati will be available on day one and three of every week.

ALSO READ: India to receive Rs 3,500 cr DA loan from Japan to fight COVID-19

Agartala will get cargo services from Kolkata on day two, four and five of every week and will connect Agartala-Guwahati-Kolkata sector. 

Silchar will get similar services from Kolkata connecting Silchar-Guwahati-Kolkata on day six and seven of every week.

These destinations will be covered as air cargo stations which will promote local produce and help farmers generate more income, opening wider scope for their products.

ALSO READ: DoNER minister Jitendra Singh terms NRA 'game-changer' in recruitment sector

"Earlier, Guwahati airport was connected to Kolkata for cargo services on given days of a week. But now, the airport here will be connected on all weekdays. The operations are based on demand-supply mechanism and future potential of the sectors," an official spokesperson of AAI-North East Region told TNT-The Northeast Today here on Tuesday.

Air cargo is the preferred mode of transportation in the North East because of its geographical location and topography. Also, the products are mostly perishable which has to be transported in a time-bound manner.

ALSO WATCH: