Guwahati Airport starts direct clearance of air cargo

November 20, 2018: Cargo transportation from the Northeast is set to get a boost with the initiation of direct custom clearance of air cargo from the LGBI Airport.

The development, especially assumes significance for the farm export from the region.

According to media reports, a consignment of 810 kilograms of vegetables comprising pointed gourd, fresh beans, cucumber, brinjals and lemons were sent to Dubai via New Delhi on an Air India flight (AI 892) recently. The vegetables were sourced from various districts of Assam.

Direct custom clearance means that the consignment sent overseas from the airport here will not be checked en route to any airport till the destination.

D.K Kamra, regional executive director Airports Authority of India, Northeast East Region, said that for the first time in history of the region, the direct export mode via air cargo has been initiated by the air cargo department of the LGBI Airport.

Kamra further added that with the Customs-EDI (electronic data interchange) clearance at the Guwahati Airport itself, the farmers and exporters will not have to go anywhere else. They can now send their products from Guwahati to any part of the globe through air cargo. The facility is available round the clock at the cargo station.

According to The Shillong Times report, phytosanitary certificates were issued by the plant quarantine department for the first time at the airport.