Customs-notified cargo centre sought at Vijayawada airport

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (AP Chambers) in a letter to the Chairman of Airports Authority of India (AAI) requested the AAI to set up a customs notified cargo centre at Vijayawada International Airport to support exporters from Vijayawada and the surrounding regions. AP Chambers said Andhra Pradesh is one of the largest exporters of Aqua, Agriculture and Allied products in India. These products have huge potential to be exported to major destinations around the world.

These are perishable products that need to be transported by air. The international flights to Sharjah, that are currently operating from Vijayawada Airport, can carry a minimum 3 tonnes of goods and can scale up the volume if the flight load is less. Besides passenger aircrafts, cargo flights are also visiting the airport to carry domestic goods. Unfortunately, the airport is not a customs’ notified centre for cargo and lacks the necessary support structure.

AP Chambers further said that the Vijayawada Airport authorities have designated a building for cargo operations considering the airport’s potential for handling cargo movement of food products, pharma, auto components, machinery parts, handlooms, floriculture and others. Currently, the exporters are shipping from Hyderabad Airport in the absence of a customs notified centre at Vijayawada Airport.