Air Cargo
Dabolim's potential for air cargo has not yet been seriously tapped. An estimated 5,000 tonnes (5,500 short tons) of cargo were handled annually as of a few years ago and may have declined since then. Meanwhile 90% of India's air cargo is concentrated in the top six airports together with Ahmedabad. Most of the country's air cargo is carried in the belly-space of airlines such as Air India rather than in dedicated freighters. There is no worthwhile cargo complex at Dabolim especially for perishables like fish, fruits, flowers and vegetables for which there is a significant export market in the Gulf countries. Meanwhile Goa's pharmaceutical companies carry out their export/import operations via Mumbai airport. The customs staff in Dabolim's vicinity are focused on ship cargo. The Goa Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) had been pleading for priority to air cargo for several years. The state government had even agreed, in principle, to allotting nearby land to AAI but there has been no perceptible progress in this direction.
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