The Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) has appealed to Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to intervene and restore freighter services of Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa at Hyderabad.
Stating operations of freighter airlines were removed post-COVID from the ambit of Open Skies policy and cargo operations instead were brought under the Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASAs), the trade and industry body highlighted how significant international direct freight connectivity was for Hyderabad, particularly with the region accounting for 40% of total bulk drug production and 50% bulk drug exports from the country. Hyderabad region also accounts for over 30% of all vaccines produced globally, it said.
In a representation to Union Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal, FTCCI president Anil Agarwal said Telangana has high dependency on air cargo for exports of finished goods and imports of raw materials. A consequence of the shift to BASAs was the curtailment of two-port landings by foreign carriers flying a multi-stop circuit route within India, dropping off/picking up international cargo from multiple Indian cities before heading back to overseas base.
