• To promote export of Agro Products from India to United Arab Emirates via Ras Al Khaimah and neighboring countries from Hyderabad
  • To create a dedicated freight corridor
  • To leverage the agro and farming sector potential from centrally located Telangana and neighboring regions
  • The program is in line with the Government of India and its Ministry of Civil Aviation ‘Krishi Udaan Scheme’ for farmers
  • Operations are likely to start from April 2020 onwards 

Hyderabad: In line with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) of India’s  Krishi Udan Scheme to give a boost to agro product exports and to aid farmers in transporting agricultural products, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. (GHIAL) and Ras Al Khaimah International Airport  has signed a tri-partite MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with SpiceJet Ltd. at the aegis of the Wings India 2020 in Hyderabad. The MoU aims at promoting export of Agro Products from India to United Arab Emirates and neighboring countries via Hyderabad. Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, UAE was represented by Shri Sanjay Khanna, while GMR Hyderabad International Airport was represented by, Shri SGK Kishore, CEO, GHIAL; Shri Pradeep Panicker, Deputy CEO, GHIAL; Shri Saurabh Kumar, CEO, GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo and Shri Ashish Kumar, Chief Commercial Officer, GHIAL; representation from SpiceJet included, Shri Ajay Singh Chairman and Managing Director along with Shri Sanjeev Gupta, CEO, SpiceXpress Ltd;.

As part of this initiative, Ras Al Khaimah International Airport has collaborated with GMR Hyderabad International Airport SpiceJet to create a dedicated freight corridor to leverage the tremendous agro and farming sector potential from centrally located Telangana and the neighboring regions. This will also give direct marketing access and open up new opportunities for both Export and Import that would benefit the farming community in India. Special arrangements are being made for handling the goods both at exporting and destination airports. The target market for this endeavor includes Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Bahrain. Specially designed equipment will be used for transportation of goods through the dedicated freighter aircraft of SpiceJet. Ras Al Khaimah International Airport would provide infrastructural and local support for the goods and facilitate the onward connection to the Middle East Countries. Operations are expected to start from April 2020 onwards.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Sanjay Khanna, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, said, “We are extremely happy to have partnered with two of the best companies in India from the airport and airline industry, and it gives me immense pleasure to be a part of something so meaningful. We are happy that we would be supporting the Krishi Udan Scheme as well. Ras Al Khaimah International Airport is well known for elaborate and meticulous care in all its air cargo related dealings. We engage with business opportunities that allow us to better connect Ras Al Khaimah  to the world. Perishable goods is a growing market for air cargo. Ensuring that these delicate and short shelf life products reach the customer unspoiled with minimal waste and loss is essential and hence we are committed to assist and ensure smooth movement of cargo, support direct and point to point service and provide the finest quality of service to meet the growing demands from our consumers. I am sure our partnership will cater not only to the UAE market but it will also make neighboring countries very accessible via Ras Al Khaimah International Airport.”

Mr. Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet said, “SpiceJet is delighted to partner with GHIAL and Ras Al Khaimah International Airport. This partnership will immensely help boost our farmer’s income by providing them ready access to international markets, strengthen the government’s ‘Krishi Udaan Scheme’ and promote export of agro products from India.” 

Mr. SGK Kishore, CEO, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd., said, “GMR Hyderabad International Airport is proud to partner with SpiceJet Ltd. and Ras Al Khaimah International Airport to boost the export of Agro Products from India to United Arab Emirates and its neighboring countries through Hyderabad. This MoU is a strategic step to foster the visionary outlook of the Govt. of India, which introduced the ‘Krishi Udan scheme’ to assist our farmers and extend all the logistic support that enables our farming products reach global destinations. Through this endeavor, we are also collaborating with farmer associations towards enabling a perennial supply of farm products through a dedicated freighter corridor. This MoU will also create a robust platform to harness our agricultural markets and help create an entire ecosystem for exporting perishable agro products from Hyderabad.” 

Key Benefits of the MoU:

  • This would promote exports from the region under the Krishi Udaan Scheme also entail extension of support to the Agro Trade by achieving Operational Efficiencies, On-time Uplift/Delivery and Networking.
  • There will be sustained efforts to promote the Air-Corridor between Telangana and neighboring states; the United Arab Emirates and neighboring countries with time-bound service to the agro exporters.

-Ends- 

About Ras Al Khaimah International Airport:

Ras Al Khaimah International Airport (RKT) was established in March 1976 by the government of Ras Al Khaimah and is the gateway between Ras Al Khaimah and the world. It operates Passenger and Cargo services to a variety of destinations.

Ras Al Khaimah International Airport now welcomes direct charter and scheduled services from various global destinations including Cairo, Islamabad, Jeddah, Lahore, Peshawar, Calicut, Katowice, Poznan, Warsaw, Luxembourg, Prague, Moscow, Istanbul and Wroclaw. 

About SpiceJet Ltd:

SpiceJet is India’s favourite airline that has made flying affordable for more Indians than ever before. SpiceJet operates 600 average daily flights to 63 destinations, including 54 domestic and 9 international ones. The airline has a fleet of 82 Boeing 737, two Airbus A320, 32 Bombardier Q-400s and five B737 freighters and is the country’s largest regional player operating 49 daily flights under UDAN or the Regional Connectivity Scheme. The majority of the airline’s fleet offers SpiceMax, the most spacious economy class seating in India.

The airline also operates a dedicated air cargo service under the brand name SpiceXpress offering safe, on-time, efficient and seamless cargo connectivity across India and on international routes. 

About GHIAL:

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) is a joint venture company promoted by the GMR Group (63%) in partnership with Airports Authority of India (13%), Government of Telangana (13%) and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (11%). The Company was incorporated to design, finance, build, operate and maintain a world class Greenfield airport at Shamshabad, Hyderabad. Hyderabad airport was commissioned in a record time of 31 months in March 2008, with an initial capacity of 12 million passengers per annum (MPPA) and 1,50,000 MT of cargo handling capacity per annum. The Project has the flexibility to increase capacity to accommodate over 40 MPPA and shall be developed in a phased manner.

For further information about GHIAL, visit www.hyderabad.aero 

Amer Alazaiza
Business Development Manager
Ras Al Khaimah International Airport
Email: amer.alazaiza@rakairport.com
Phone: +97172075223

© Press Release 2020

Disclaimer: The contents of this press release was provided from an external third party provider. This website is not responsible for, and does not control, such external content. This content is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and has not been edited in any way. Neither this website nor our affiliates guarantee the accuracy of or endorse the views or opinions expressed in this press release.

The press release is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Neither this website nor our affiliates shall be liable for any errors or inaccuracies in the content, or for any actions taken by you in reliance thereon. You expressly agree that your use of the information within this article is at your sole risk.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, this website, its parent company, its subsidiaries, its affiliates and the respective shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, advertisers, content providers and licensors will not be liable (jointly or severally) to you for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, incidental, punitive or exemplary damages, including without limitation, lost profits, lost savings and lost revenues, whether in negligence, tort, contract or any other theory of liability, even if the parties have been advised of the possibility or could have foreseen any such damages.