India air freight rises 16% in June as Delhi sustains 1 lakh-tonne cargo run
India handled 364,289 tonnes of air freight in June, led by 19% growth in international cargo. Delhi crossed 100,000 tonnes for a third straight month, while Bengaluru strengthened its position as a southern cargo hub—an indicator of improving capacity for faster retail replenishment and cross-border fulfilment.
What happened
Airports Authority of India · India air freight reached a June record, led by 19% international-cargo growth. Delhi exceeded 100,000 tonnes for a third month,
Key facts
- June 2026 total air freight: 364,289 tonnes, up 16% YoY
- International freight: 231,736 tonnes, up 19% YoY
- Domestic freight: 132,553 tonnes, up 9% YoY
- International cargo share: nearly 64%
- Q1 FY27 air freight: 1.08 million tonnes, up 12% YoY
- Q1 FY27 international freight: 678,821 tonnes, up 14% YoY
- Q1 FY27 domestic freight: 397,398 tonnes, up 9% YoY
- Delhi handled more than 100,000 tonnes for the third consecutive month
Why this matters
Delhi’s scale and Bengaluru’s emergence as a southern cargo hub strengthen the case for logistics, airport and fulfilment partnerships serving national and cross-border commerce.
What to watch
- Delhi cargo throughput staying above 100,000 tonnes monthly through the festive and year-end peak.
- Bengaluru international cargo growth, new freighter routes, terminal expansion and customs-processing improvements.
- India-bound airfreight spot-rate movements and peak-season capacity availability.
- Customs clearance dwell times, cargo-terminal congestion and reliability of airport-to-warehouse transfers.
- Growth in cross-border e-commerce imports, electronics launches, premium beauty demand and quick-commerce assortment expansion.
- Any disruption to sea freight lanes or ocean transit times that pushes retailers toward emergency air shipments.
- Segment SKUs by margin, urgency, seasonality and stockout cost to identify products that justify airfreight replenishment.
- Establish dual-gateway inbound plans using Delhi for northern demand and Bengaluru for southern inventory positioning.
- Negotiate block-space, handling and customs-clearance SLAs with carriers, forwarders and airport cargo operators before peak festive and electronics launch periods.
- Position small forward-stock pools near airport-linked fulfilment centres for high-velocity imported SKUs.
- Track landed-cost impact carefully; use air freight for demand spikes and exception inventory rather than replacing core ocean or surface flows.