The private run Hyderabad airport registered the fastest growth in international cargo volume among major airports in FY 2025 led by high value pharmaceutical product exports. Now, the airport is looking to sustain momentum with enhanced air connectivity and diversified product mix, including perishables and electronic goods.
“While pharmaceuticals remain a cornerstone of Hyderabad Airport air cargo profile, we are actively working to diversify our product mix by tapping into high-potential segments such as perishables, engineering goods and e-commerce,” said Pradeep Panicker, chief executive officer of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd.
To support this growth the existing cargo terminal is being expanded and a second terminal is being added to handle 50,000 tonne of cargo. A dedicated facility is being built for perishable product exports with a handling capacity of 25,000 tonne.
The new perishable exports facility will feature dedicated chambers for meat, fish, flowers, fruits and vegetables, ensuring temperature integrity and avoiding cross-contamination. “We are exploring the possibility of setting up an irradiation facility and pack house to support the perishable exports,” he said.
With these facilities and better connectivity, the airport hopes to compete with Mumbai and Bengaluru for a larger pie of exports from Southern India. “This initiative is designed to reduce transportation costs for agents and shippers who currently route cargo via Bengaluru and Mumbai. It will enable direct exports from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh,” he added.
Panicker said the airline is in constant dialogue with major airlines and compared to pre-Covid period there is 19 per cent growth in international air traffic movements. Number of new international destinations has increased by 47 per cent during the same period.
Earlier this month KLM Royal Dutch Airlines began thrice weekly flights from Amsterdam. Cathay Pacific is increasing the frequency of its Hong Kong flights making it a daily service in the winter season. On the freighter side too airlines such as Lufthansa and Qatar Airways have already expanded their capacity on the Hyderabad route.
“In FY 2025 we handled around 1,000 freighter movements with addition of 15 per cent freighter capacity to the Middle East, Europe and Africa. The passenger belly capacity has also increased by 12 per cent further supporting the growth of capacity requirement for cargo. We are actively engaging with airline partners to explore new routes and enhance connectivity, especially for high-demand sectors like pharma, perishables, and express cargo. More new connections to Europe, CIS , South East Asia are expected in the near future,” Panicker said.
Earlier in July the airport also rolled out a loyalty programme for freight forwarders that will provide priority cargo handling, demurrage waivers, loyalty rewards among other things.
These initiatives will be useful as India looks to tap new markets and diversify its exports. Overall India’s merchandise exports grew 2.5 per cent year on year in April – August. While exports to the US rose 18 per cent during this period, on a month-on-month basis exports to the US declined by 14 per cent with the imposition of additional 25 per cent on Indian exports.
