Flight services to Gulf suspended; cargo services disrupted

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cargo movement from Thiruvananthapuram to Gulf countries has been disrupted after flight services to the Gulf were suspended due to the ongoing conflict in the region. As there are no direct cargo flights from Thiruvananthapuram to Gulf countries, goods are usually transported through the cargo sections of passenger flights. On average, 42 to 45 tonnes of essential items are sent daily to the Gulf. Of this, 96 percent consists of vegetables, three percent fish, and one percent general cargo.

These goods are transported through the cargo facilities of airlines, including Air India, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Gulf Air, Kuwait Airways, IndiGo and Air Arabia. Although vegetables and fish arrived at the airport for loading the other day, the consignments meant for Gulf countries were not shipped due to the situation. Instead, cargo bound for destinations such as Mali, Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka was dispatched.

Vegetables from Kerala have high demand in Gulf markets. The cargo division at the airport operates under Kerala State Industrial Enterprises Limited (KSIE). International courier cargo services operating through flights have also been suspended.

Earlier, foreign cargo flights operated from Thiruvananthapuram. However, the central government later removed all airports in Kerala from the list of foreign cargo flight services.