ACAAI President flags India’s missed transhipment opportunity

India missed a major opportunity to emerge as a global air cargo transhipment hub during the disruption caused by the US-Iran conflict because operational systems were not in place despite the legal framework permitting such movements, according to Samir Shah, President of Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI).

Speaking at the India International Cargo Show (IICS) 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, Delhi today (Thursday, June 4, 2026) Shah said India had the geographical advantage, cargo volumes and entrepreneurial capability to position itself as a major transhipment centre but was held back by procedural complexities.

“We have missed one very big opportunity,” Shah said. “The US-Iran war gave us a great opportunity to position ourselves as a very good transhipment hub.”

According to Shah, while transhipment from sea-to-sea and air-to-air is possible, multimodal cargo movements remain difficult in practice.

“Legally, I can do sea to air and air to sea, but the systems are not in place. I have to go through two commissionerates, sometimes three commissionerates to work it out,” he said.

Shah argued that India should be capturing cargo flows that currently benefit Middle Eastern hubs.

“India is in a wonderful position. Why should the Middle East alone take all the advantage of the sea-to-air and air-to-sea product?” he asked. “We have the people who can handle it, we have the intelligence, we have everything with us.”

Calls for single-window clearance
To unlock India's transhipment potential, Shah called for simplified procedures and a single-window system for cargo movements.

Addressing the Union Minister of Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu on stage, Shah said, “It would be my humble request, that some efforts can be taken to make it simple.

“If we have a single window process, we can do sea to air and air to sea easily,” he said.

Shah noted that ACAAI would submit a detailed proposal to the government.

More air cargo hubs and customs stations are needed
Shah also urged the government to expand India's air cargo infrastructure by increasing the number of customs-enabled air cargo stations and creating more international hubs.

He further stressed the need for smoother coordination among stakeholders and regulators.

“All my members are doing firefighting in their day-to-day work,” Shah said. “The systems are there, the regulations are there, everything is in place, but somehow it's not as smooth as it should be.”

India must nearly triple its daily trade documentation
Highlighting the scale of growth required for India to become a global trading powerhouse, Shah pointed to the country's customs documentation volumes.

“India does around 54,000 bills of entries and shipping bills every day,” he said. “But our calculations, along with DPIIT and the other departments, have been that if India truly wants to become an economic superpower in international business, we should be doing at least 150,000 a day.”

He warned that greater trust-based facilitation would be necessary to achieve that target.

“Unless we have more trust in the system, we have more trust for the stakeholders, we will never be able to reach 150,000,” Shah said.