Air cargo traffic (domestic + international) across all airports grew by 6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in April to December 2025 with all the top five ports reporting a positive growth during the period.
Chennai reported the highest growth thanks to increased handling of mobile phones and machinery during the period under review, sources said. This growth was despite the US tariff that impacted major exports of goods, including textiles and leather. Imports too increased in many of the airports, including Chennai, said sources.
Top ports
Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata were the top ports in terms of freight handled. Other than Chennai, the other five airports saw less than 10 per cent growth, according to Airports Authority of India data. Hyderabad edged Kolkata by a whisker to take the fifth spot in April to December 2025. Among the top six airports that handled more than 1 lakh tonnes in the period, Kolkata was the only one to report YoY decline.
On Chennai airport’s growth in cargo handling, J Krishnan of S Natesa Iyer Logistics LLP, a Chennai-based freight forwarder, said the mobile phone shipments have been a critical driver of the jump in throughput at the Chennai air terminal . Dedicated freighter landings as non-scheduled operators from China have seen a significant increase boosting the tonnages, he said.
The growth in Chennai has been because strong industrial belts around the city manufacturing phones, engineering and automotive goods, said Dinesh Krishnan, Chairman, The Air Cargo Agents Association of India, South Region. “We expect more tonnage to Chennai of the traditional cargoes (textile / leather) to rebound in the next 6 months on account of EU FTA and US lowering of tariffs,” he added.
Published on February 5, 2026
