International air cargo volumes out of India were estimated to have surged 19% year on year in 2024, beating the global and Asia-Pacific average growth rates for the year. Yearly growth in overall tonnage at Indian airports was 14%, with domestic flows up between 6% and 8%, while Rotate pointed to an 8% bump in capacity over the year.
The record growth, according to industry experts, was in large part driven by pharmaceutical, ecommerce, and perishables, while sources also believe infrastructure improvements and airline network expansions had aided the market boom. Mumbai (CSIMA) and Bengaluru (BLR) airports led the growth, boosting international volumes 17% and 23%, respectively.
BLR claimed it continued to be the busiest perishables handler for the third year, representing some 30% of India’s cold chain trade and 45% of the southern India market in that segment. The upcoming opening of Navi Mumbai International Airport, scheduled for early April, is expected to refuel the pace of cargo flow as Mumbai has been grappling with significant capacity strains for years.
Industry stakeholders are upbeat about the demand upswing and the other on-ground developments under way and in the planning stages. IndiGo reported a record monthly cargo lift of some 37,000 tonnes in October, and its CarGo COO, Mark Sutch, said the carrier was looking to build on that momentum into 2025.
Both carriers already have massive fleet expansions in the works, Air India’s 100-aircraft order with Airbus last month, the latest capacity push. But he said the industry still needed do more to tap into its full potential, though the direction of higher growth indicators was clearly setting in.
A resurgent demand boost for India-made apparel products, in the wake of supply chain disruption in Bangladesh, seems to be another sweetener for the industry, as recent figures released by the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) indicate, which included a 13% year-on-year increase in December.
