International air cargo service from Bhubaneswar from Jan 27

Odisha's exports sector is likely to get a boost as authorities have decided to resume international air cargo services from Biju Patnaik International Airport here from International Customs Day on January 27, officials said.
The decision was taken at a joint meeting of Director, Airports Authority of India (AAI), and Commissioner, Customs, Bhubaneswar. The Customs Department agreed to resume the service after receiving a request from the AAI.
For this purpose, a public notice is already in place, said L N Gupta, Secretary, MSME Department of the Odisha government.
He said the AAI has earmarked a hall adjacent to the domestic air cargo terminal for the purpose.

Gupta said his department has been following the matter after requests from various MSME exporters and trade stakeholders.
Exporters of seafood, agro and food processing industries, handloom and handicrafts exporters, among others, had sought international air cargo service from the airport here instead of the current practice of sending cargo by road to Hyderabad or Kolkata.
Different airlines were asked to publish a schedule for dispatching cargo to various international destinations in Middle East, Far East and European countries as per the requirements of exporters within seven days both for perishable and non-perishable items.
The representatives of airlines agreed to do so at the earliest, Gupta said.