Parliament Question: Establishment of Air Cargo Terminals

**Executive Summary** This document is the response of the Minister of Civil Aviation to Unstarred Question No. 753 in the Lok Sabha, scheduled for answer on December 4th, 2025. The question concerns the establishment of air cargo terminals and cold-chain facilities at Bhubaneswar and Jharsuguda airports to support exports from Odisha, cargo volume details and measures to encourage air transportation of high-value perishable products from Odisha. The response details existing infrastructure, cargo volumes, and utilisation of facilities by exporters. **Key Points / Main Content** * **Establishment of Air Cargo Facilities:** * AAICLAS has established dedicated domestic and international air cargo facilities at Bhubaneswar Airport, with cold storage, to support agricultural, horticultural, and fishery exports from Odisha. * The Domestic Air Cargo Facility at Bhubaneswar has an annual handling capacity of 22,700 MT. * The International Air Cargo Facility at Bhubaneswar has a capacity of 4,600 MT. * At Jharsuguda Airport, air cargo operations are currently facilitated through the existing passenger terminal building. * Development of additional cargo facilities depend on various factors such as airport development progress, increase in scheduled operations, handling capacity, growth in domestic cargo volumes and demand from airlines. * **Cargo Volumes:** * Bhubaneswar Airport handled 9,871 MT of air cargo in 2023-24 and 9,086 MT in 2024-25. * Jharsuguda Airport handled 95 MT of cargo in 2023-24; no cargo movement was recorded in 2024-25. * **Krishi UDAN Scheme and Support Measures:** * Exporters are to utilize available air cargo facilities based on commercial viability, requirements, and various determining factors including destination country, airline operations, and the availability of direct or connecting services. * The existing facility at Bhubaneswar airport is capable of transporting high-value perishable products such as aromatic rice, vegetables, fishery products, and handloom-based goods from Odisha. **Impact Analysis** **Exporters:** * **Impact:** Need to assess and utilize available air cargo facilities at Bhubaneswar and Jharsuguda Airports. * **Action Required:** Evaluate commercial viability and requirements, and utilize existing facilities based on destination, airline operations, and service availability. **Airlines:** * **Impact:** Airlines initiate cargo operations based on internal assessment of cargo potential, handling capabilities and commercial viability of operating from any airport. * **Action Required:** Continuously assess cargo potential, handling capabilities, and commercial viability of cargo operations at Bhubaneswar and Jharsuguda Airports. **Farmer Producer Groups / MSMEs of Balangir and Sonepur:** * **Impact:** The government has received proposals from farmer producer groups and MSMEs of Balangir and Sonepur for using air cargo services under the Krishi UDAN scheme * **Action Required:** The government will take the measures to encourage air transportation of high-value perishable products such as aromatic rice, vegetables, fishery products and handloom-based goods from Odisha. **AAICLAS:** * **Impact:** Responsible for maintaining and operating air cargo facilities at Bhubaneswar Airport. * **Action Required:** Maintain and develop the domestic and international air cargo facilities including the cold chain storage facilities at Bhubaneswar to support exports from Odisha.

Key Entities Referenced