Air India SATS Starts Cargo Handling at Ranchi Airport

Ranchi, Feb 7 (PTI) Air India SATS Airport Services Ltd (AISATS) on Wednesday announced that it has started domestic cargo handling services at Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi as its official Operator and Management (O&M) service provider.

AISATS will provide world-class domestic cargo handling services to ensure that Ranchi Airport's cargo throughput is ready to take off to new heights of service excellence, it said.

AISATS is a 50:50 joint venture between Tata group entity Air India Limited and SATS Limited, a leading gateway services and food solutions provider in Asia.

The company said with its expertise in air cargo handling and logistics, AISATS is focused on levelling up the infrastructure at Ranchi Airport to enable faster freight movements and improve air cargo connectivity for the state of Jharkhand.

It said it will ensure that all cargo is robustly screened, labelled and dispatched as per global best practices, adding it is committed to providing efficient and seamless solutions to airlines for all their cargo handling, processing and warehousing needs at Ranchi including the capability to handle pharmaceuticals, perishables or machinery.

Sanjay Gupta, CEO of AISATS, said, "We are ...committed to make the city a lucrative focal point for the region's air cargo needs. AISATS is delighted to partner with AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company (AAICLAS), as its trusted O&M service provider at Ranchi Airport for this service.

"We believe that Ranchi Airport is going to play a significant role in transporting India's cargo from regional industrial clusters and their distribution points to domestic and international marketing across the world".

Gupta said India has become one of the world's fastest-growing express delivery sectors and the Indian air freight market is expected to reach USD 17.22 billion by 2028.

"To keep up with the growth and serve the rising demand of the express delivery sector, AISATS is expanding its operations to key regional locations as well," he added.

The company said it is on track to build India's first Multi-Modal Cargo Hub (MMCH) at the upcoming Noida International Airport in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh.

The MMCH is expected to go live in the third quarter of 2024. AISATS is also building a Cargo Logistics Park at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru.

"As a 50:50 joint venture between Air India and Singapore-based SATS Ltd, AISATS has consistently demonstrated exceptional cargo handling capabilities at its six stations by introducing innovative and tech-driven cargo solutions that provide speed, traceability and certainty to its customers across its network," it said.

It said as part of the Indian Government's initiative to upgrade its airports to world-class facilities and attract more airlines to fly into India, AISATS was formed with the vision to provide world-class airport services in ground and cargo handling that exceed customers' expectations.