The on-again, off-again Britain-to-Amritsar flight route was in the news recently when a crowd-funded new airline, POP (an acronym for People Over Profit), sent out a message that it planned to be the first airline to operate non-stop flights between the UK and the cities of Amritsar and Ahmedabad in the states of Punjab and Gujarat.
      While the news was welcomed by the Indian diaspora in Britain, it was hailed by air cargo stakeholders in Amritsar. With no regular direct international air connectivity, exporters were finding it tough to send out fresh vegetables and fruits and industrial products. As a result, other than perishables, most consignments were being sent to Delhi by road for onward transportation. The lack of air services has also turned the 80-tonne capacity cold rooms idle.
     POP believes that its flights would not only help the under-served ‘visiting friends and relatives’ market, but also boost business and tourism.

Here Comes The Judge

     The carrier hopes to open new trading links between Britain and India and has already started reaching out to air cargo operators. Said Navdip Singh Judge (Nino), Chairman and founding partner of POP: “The vision behind POP is one of making a genuine and positive difference to the communities we plan to serve. We aim to do that by opening up new routes between the UK and India and by providing new opportunities for growing businesses in Punjab and Gujarat to engage in worldwide trade in a way that has previously been impossible for them.”

As Much Profit As Possible

      Mr. Judge said that he had positioned cargo in his business plan “to make as much profit as possible to enhance our profitability and hence donate to good causes” because there was a “huge trade potential between India and UK and offering cargo will facilitate this trade.” He said that he was optimistic about the talks between the UK and Indian governments about a possible preferential or free trade agreement following the Brexit decision. This, he said, “makes us even more confident about the cargo opportunities that POP can look forward to.”
      Other reasons for the POP Chairman's optimism stem from Prime Minister Modi's “Make in India” campaign to boost manufacturing within the country and the new civil aviation policy that has enunciated the government's aim of providing an ecosystem for the harmonized growth of aviation subsectors, including cargo. It is in such an environment that POP will offer opportunities to manufacturers and producers in northern India who will be able to take advantage of the direct 8-hour flights to the UK to send out a whole range of goods, textiles and traditional Indian clothing, and fresh produce like fruits and vegetables.

Interest Running High

      “We have already had very good interest from vendors who want to take advantage of the shorter flight times to cargo perishables like fruits,” Mr. Judge said.
      Looking at the future, POP has plans to tie-up for bonded trucking services to the airport and even link with other carriers. However, that will come in “year two when we hope to fly to Kolkata and Goa three times a week and hopefully other cities once we have researched the demand,” said Judge.

Fabric of Plan Is Exports

     From Ahmedabad, POP hopes to take fabrics, jewelry and gemstones, chemicals, cars, and pharma.
     From Europe, POP’s cargo services will help manufacturers wanting to export to India. The airline’s flights will enable these manufacturers to satisfy the growing demand for products like electronic devices for the growing Indian middle class.

What Infrastructure?

     Undeterred by the infrastructure problems, Judge said that cargo facilities will “develop if there are flights. It is a chicken-and-egg situation.”
     He also mentioned that if the infrastructure was not there, it could be an opportunity for POP to create it.
     Cargo exporters from Amritsar have often sent out appeals to the government in Delhi and the ministry of civil aviation for the resumption of international flights.

Start and Stop Ups

     Over the last ten years, a number of flights by international carriers were started only to be discontinued after a few months.
     Back in 2004, Singapore Airlines had an Amritsar-Singapore thrice-weekly service, but that stopped in 2009. In 2010, one of Air India’s popular flights—in fact, the Amritsar-Birmingham-Toronto flights were the most successful in the national carrier’s history, registering 90 percent occupancy on average—was withdrawn. Two years later, British Midland International discontinued its Amritsar-Almaty-London flight. Even Jet Airways had an Amritsar-London flight for some time.
     Today, of course, there are flights from the city to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Qatar, and Dubai. The air cargo community in the city hopes that with the POP flights, other carriers would be encouraged to start services too.
Tirthankar Ghosh

Vol. 15 No. 64
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