Pradhaan Air’s first converted A320 cargo plane “Pehalwan” arrives at Delhi Airport: WATCH video

The Delhi-based cargo carrier Pradhaan Air Express received its first converted A320 freighter aircraft ‘Pehalwan’ at Delhi airport. The airline plans to operate a fleet of four planes by next year. Airline shared the video on Twitter to spread the word. 

India’s Cargo airline Pradhaan Air Express, world’s first A320 converted freighter called ‘Pehalwan’ lands in India. Arrival of this aircraft marks the completion of another critical phase for Pradhaan Air Express.#PradhaanAir #PradhaanAirExpress #AirCargo #Aviation pic.twitter.com/IRyilcf9bq — Pradhaan Air Express (@PradhaanAir) July 17, 2022

“India’s Cargo airline Pradhaan Air Express, world’s first A320 converted freighter called ‘Pehalwan’ lands in India. Arrival of this aircraft marks the  completion of another critical phase for Pradhaan Air Express,” read the tweet. 

Pradhaan Air Express earlier this month secured the no-objection certificate from the Civil Aviation Ministry to start a cargo carrier. It had also announced that the airline will start operations by this year.

Pradhaan Air's first converted A320 cargo plane, named “Pehalwan” arrived at Delhi Airport on Saturday evening, the airline said in a statement on Sunday. The 21-tons payload capacity cargo plane with a fully palletized main deck will offer charter capacity to domestic shippers and freight forwarders on domestic as well as international routes, it said. The converted freighter will also be available for on-demand cargo charters, the company said.

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"The arrival of the aircraft marks the completion of another critical phase and brings us closer to our Air Operator Permit to kick start the commercial operations very soon. We look forward to keeping up the positive momentum, aiming at further fleet expansion," said Nipun Anand, CEO & Founder, Pradhaan Air Express.

The airline is expected to take the second A320 P2F (passenger aircraft to freighter) by this year-end with further fleet expansion under consideration, he said.

"The airline intends to add two A321 freighters to its fleet as well by next year," said Anand. With this key development, Pradhaan Air Express is moving towards leveraging the boom in the air cargo industry, which has rebounded after the pandemic, the airline said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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