Logistics service provider Gati and India's national carrier Air India have launched a dedicated freighter service, which will operate with Nagpur has its hub.
The first of the five freighters was launched on Thursday and will operate on the Delhi-Mumbai-Bangalore-Delhi sector.
Nagpur will serve as the one stop integration point where all freighters will arrive for sorting, exchanging and disseminating of cargo from all parts of the country. The freighters will fly in from all major metros, exchange cargo and fly out with cargo meant for the respective destinations. All feeder routes of Air India will be connected from the respective destinations.
After flagging off the freighter service Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel said, "It is delight for me to see one of my pet project-Air India to take cargo in India in a big way and to be a part of this fast growing market. I would like to congratulate Gati, a homegrown leader in the logistic segment and Air India, the national carrier on this partnership, which will set newer heights in the Indian cargo segment.
"It would be in the benefit of the Indian cargo sector that Air India should also explore the option of inducting newer fleet for dedicated cargo freighter than just converting its older planes for cargo services," he added.
Announcing the inauguration of the first freighter of this tie-up Mr V. Thulasidas Chairman and Managing Director, Air India said, "Air India once again has made a pioneering effort in the history of Indian aviation by being the first scheduled passenger airline to enter the freighter market, which is growing at a rapid pace of 7100 crores annually. Air India intends to be a loyal and dependable airline partner to GATI and hopes that together this partnership will propel the cargo industry growth by 6.1% per year. "
At the launch event Mahendra Agarwal, Managing Director and CEO, Gati said, "The launch of the dedicated freighter service is aimed at enhancing our connectivity across the entire country".
In light of the rapidly growing economy of India, Gati and Air India propose to make the best of this public-private-partnership and take the alliance to new heights. |
