Hyderabad Airport Sets Pace as India’s Fastest-Growing International Cargo Gateway

Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport has emerged as the fastest-growing international cargo hub in FY 2025, driven largely by pharmaceutical exports but now focusing on diversification into perishables, engineering goods, electronics, and e-commerce. To sustain this growth momentum, it is significantly expanding infrastructure, connectivity, and airline partnerships.

Cargo Infrastructure Expansion

• Expansion of the existing cargo terminal and construction of a second terminal with 50,000-tonne handling capacity.
• A dedicated perishable exports facility (25,000-tonne capacity) with specialized cold chambers for meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
• Plans to add an irradiation facility and pack house to strengthen food safety, quality, and compliance with global export requirements.

Air Connectivity and Airlines

• International air traffic movements have grown by 19% compared to pre-Covid times.
• Number of international destinations increased by 47%.
• New airline connections: KLM started thrice-weekly Amsterdam flights.
• Cathay Pacific enhanced Hong Kong flights to daily (winter).

Freighter growth: Lufthansa and Qatar Airways expanded freighter services, adding 15% more freighter capacity to the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.

Passenger belly cargo capacity rose by 12%, boosting overall cargo uplift capability.

Strategic Goals

• Compete with Mumbai and Bengaluru by offering direct exports from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, reducing logistics costs.
• Expand high-demand cargo segments such as fresh perishables, express cargo, and pharmaceuticals.
• Tap into new global markets: Europe, CIS, South East Asia.
• Launched a loyalty program for freight forwarders to incentivize usage with benefits like priority handling, demurrage waivers, and reward schemes.

Trade Context

• India’s overall merchandise exports grew 2.5% year-on-year (April–August FY 2025).
• Exports to the US rose 18%, though dipped 14% month-on-month due to a 25% tariff hike on Indian exports.

Hyderabad Airport’s push for infrastructure expansion, diversification, and global air connectivity positions it as a strong competitor in South India’s cargo landscape, especially for pharma, perishables, and e-commerce shipments.