Bengaluru airport handles over 650 tonnes of coronavirus-related cargo since April

Bengaluru: Fairfax-backed Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru has processed over 650 tonnes of coronavirus-related cargo, including 107.60 tonnes of domestic inbound cargo, since April this year, according to a statement released on Tuesday.

The relief cargo included oxygen concentrators, ventilators and Zeolite among the major import commodities; while COVID-19 vaccines and PPEs were the top domestic inbound cargo, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) said in the statement.

The Bengaluru airport has processed 6,50,225 kg (5,42,620 kg of imports and 1,07,605 kg of domestic inbound) of COVID-19-related relief material from April 1 to May 19, it stated.

As many as 200 shipments came in April, while the first 20 days of May received nearly 800 shipments, accounting for an overall 25,891 pieces of COVID-19-related cargo, it said.

During this period, the airport recorded a total of 136 flights (101 international and 35 domestic) carrying the cargo. The flights were operated by 21 different carriers, including international airlines, BIAL said.

The company said its cargo terminal operators, Menzies Aviation Bobba Bangalore and Air India SATS, have jointly demarcated 1,000 sq ft within their respective premises for handling and faster clearance of COVID-19-related shipments.

The cargo terminals have dedicated truck docks for faster delivery of COVID-19 shipments, it said.

BIAL also added that flights carrying vaccines are allocated parking stands in front of the respective terminals to enable quicker and seamless processing of the logistics.