Dedicated freight corridor: SpiceJet's pact with GMR Hyderabad Airport and Ras-Al-Khaimah International Airport - Top details

In a major development, private budget carrier SpiceJet has signed an initial pact with GMR Hyderabad Airport along with Ras-Al-Khaimah International Airport for a dedicated freight corridor, which is expected to be operational from next month onwards. In a release issued Saturday, the airline said the proposed freighter corridor aims at promoting agro-products export from India to the UAE and neighbouring countries via Hyderabad.

The partnership was signed in the presence of Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri, Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao, SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director, Ajay Singh, Chairman of Ras-Al-Khaimah International Airport Salem Bin Sultan Al Qasimi and Hyderabad Airport Ltd (GHIAL) CEO, SGK Kishore, among others at the 2020 edition of India aviation show in Hyderabad.

The proposed freight corridor is in line with the Civil Aviation Ministry's Krishi Udaan scheme for farmers, announced in the 2020-21 Union Budget, the airline said.

"This partnership will immensely help boost our farmer's income by providing them ready access to international markets, strengthen the government's ?Krishi Udaan Scheme' and promote export of agro products from India," Singh said.

SpiceJet also said its dedicated freighter aircraft will be used for transportation of goods. The agreement will leverage the agro and farming sector potential from centrally located Telangana and neighbouring region, it said.

The pact aims at promoting export of agro products such as mango, okra, chillies, curry leaf, herbs, other fruits and vegetables, spices, floriculture, livestock, animal husbandry, dairy, marine and seafood products from India to United Arab Emirates and neighbouring countries via Hyderabad, the airline added.

"GMR Hyderabad International Airport is proud to partner with SpiceJet and Ras-Al-Khaimah International Airport to boost the export of Agro Products from India to United Arab Emirates and its neighbouring countries through Hyderabad," Kishore said.

Through this endeavor, we are also collaborating with farmer associations towards enabling a perennial supply of farm products through a dedicated freighter corridor, he said adding this agreement will also create a robust advocacy platform to harness our agricultural markets and help create an entire ecosystem for exporting perishable agro products from Hyderabad.  The association will target key UAE markets such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Bahrain while entailing extension of support to the agro trade by achieving operational efficiencies, on-time uplift/delivery and networking, as per the release.

According to the airline, a specially-designed equipment will be used for transportation of goods through the dedicated freighter aircraft of SpiceJet while Ras-Al-Khaimah International Airport would provide infrastructural and local support for the goods and facilitate the onward connection to the Middle-east Countries.