Kochi, March 6 The ongoing conflict in West Asia has significantly affected air cargo movement from Kochi, with shipments now reduced by more than half, CIAL officials said on Friday.
Perishable goods are the most affected, and a special cargo flight from Abu Dhabi is scheduled to arrive here to clear the shipment, they said.
Authorities at Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) said the situation is expected to improve as more flights have resumed operations in recent days, following disruptions caused by the conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran, and its impact on the West Asian region.
The special cargo flight from Abu Dhabi is scheduled to arrive at CIAL on Saturday to transport perishable goods.
Approximately 88 tonnes of goods, primarily belonging to the Lulu Group, will be transported via the special cargo flight, they said.
Satheesh Kumar Pai, Head of the CIAL cargo section, told
"Before the conflict, we used to send an average of 150 tonnes of goods as cargo per day. That has now decreased to 60 tonnes a day," he said.
Around 60 per cent of the cargo sent from the airport consisted of perishable goods, Pai added.
"It was around 90–100 tonnes per day. However, due to the conflict, the movement of perishable goods, including fruits and vegetables, has significantly decreased," he said.
Pai said that the Gulf region accounts for a major share of cargo movement from Kerala, including transit shipments to Europe and other Western countries.
"The movement to Saudi Arabia is becoming normal with more flights operational now. Also, a few airlines to other Gulf countries have resumed services, which raises hopes that cargo movement will start to recover in the next one or two weeks," Pai added.