BLR Airport handles 180,745 kg of pomegranates from April-August 2020

Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB/ BLR Airport) processed 180,745 kg of pomegranates from April to August 2020, making it India’s leading airport for pomegranate exports.

BLR Airport also accounted for 99 percent of the total pomegranate exports from Karnataka, according to the data available from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS).

The fruit was exported to 12 international destinations, by nine global freight carriers – Air France, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Turkish Airlines. To retain their freshness, perishables are stored, cleared and moved to the aircraft on priority, with the required temperature controls in place, therefore reducing dwell time at BLR Airport’s two cargo terminals operated by Air India SATS and Menzies Aviation Bobba Bangalore.

The cargo infrastructure has been built to ensure the rapid distribution of perishable cargo, making BLR Airport the preferred cargo airport in South India. BLR Airport has a dedicated cold zone – AISATS CoolPort - with the capacity to handle 40,000 tonnes per annum and temperature zones ranging from -25 to +25°C, under the same roof and Menzies Aviation Bobba Bangalore, with the capacity to handle 20,000 MT per annum.