Cargo revenue at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai’s gateway, declined in the 2013-14 fiscal year, but it is set to climb in 2014-15, according to a government study.
The figures were detailed in the Economic Impact Study of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, which was carried out by the independent National Council of Applied Economic Research.
The report notes that cargo is, “an important source of income,” for the owner, Mumbai International Airport (MIAL). In 2013-14, cargo revenue was 1.6 billion rupees ($25.6 million), down 70 million on 2012-13. The study forecasts revenue to rise in 2014-15 to 2.1 billion rupees, then increase to 2.4 billion in 2015-16 and again to 2.6 billion in 2016-17. It says revenue will drop in 2017-18 and 2018-19 before increasing every year from 2019-20 until 2022-23, when it will reach 2.8 billion rupees. The report explains: “Revenue generated from cargo has declined significantly over the years due to slowing demand and business in the past two fiscal years; it registered positive growth in between 2009–10 and 2010–11, but declined sharply.”
The study says cargo’s overall contribution to the airport’s revenue has been in decline and in 2012-13 it made up 11.4 per cent of Mumbai airport’s revenue, but in 2013-14 it dropped to 7.7 per cent. In 2014-15, the report forecasts that the revenue contribution will rise to nine per cent and in 2015-16 it will be 10.2 per cent. It will drop in 2016-17 to 8.7 per cent and to 5.6 per cent in 2017-18, but will pick up and reach 6.9 per cent of the airport’s total revenue in 2022-23.
In terms of the average volume of cargo handled per day, the study explains Mumbai holds the largest market share among Indian airports. In 2012-13, the latest figures that it used, it had a 29.9 per cent share, above the 25.2 per cent at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.
According to figures by the Airport Authority of India, in 2013, Mumbai’s total cargo volume, was 635,000 tonnes of cargo. In 2012, it handled 654,000 tonnes, in 2011 it was 657,000 tonnes, but below the peak of 670,000 tonnes in 2010.
MIAL is developing the airport so it can handle one million tonnes. Carriers operating at the airport include, Saudia Cargo, Emirates SkyCargo and Martinair.
