RAJAHMUNDRY: D Muralitharan, general manager, cargo, southern region, Chennai, on Thursday inspected cargo facilities at the Rajahmundry airport, including x-ray machines, door frame metal detectors, hand-held metal detectors and explosive trace detectors.
D Muralitharan and airport director M Raja Kishore took part in a stakeholders’ meeting at the airport in which it was identified that agro, marine, fish, soft crab and pharmacy shrimp would be the main cargo.
With the start of airbus operations, belly cargo can carry goods to the tune of three to four tonnes per trip, said the airport director.
The committee has recommended cargo operations for the airport and the Airport Authority of India has given operational clearance.
It is expected that security clearance from Bureau of Civil Aviation will be secured in the next few months leading to the beginning of cargo service in another four months.
Rajahmundry has the second longest runway in Andhra Pradesh—3,185-feet-long. It has four parking bays for A-321 planes (180 passenger capacity) as well as two bays for ATR-72 planes (74 passenger capacity). Bigger aircraft can be landed and belly cargo can be possible in the airport which is spread over in 1,223 acres.
Airport director M Raja Kishore said the new airport terminal building will be increased from 225 peak hour capacity to 1,400 peak hour passenger capacity with three aero bridges. He said the number of parking bays will be increased from six to 11 and parking space for helicopters will be increased from four to eight.
He said flights are offering connectivity to Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru and will fly for Visakhapatnam from September. IndiGo has agreed to fly to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Tirupati and Shirdi, he added.
He said only customs approval was needed for international cargo services from Rajahmundry with cargo carried in bonded trucks from Rajahmundry to Chennai.