Airports in India’s financial capital, Mumbai, have stopped allowing cargoes booked on Russian airlines. Cargoes booked with Russian carriers Aeroflot and Volga-Dnepr have been held up at Mumbai’s main airport for nearly two weeks, while a Volga-Dnepr charter was rerouted to Delhi after being denied permission at the Navi Mumbai airport, amid concerns over compliance with US sanctions. Navi Mumbai is a satellite city of Mumbai, and both airports are owned and operated by the Adani Airport Holding Ltd, owned by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani. Adani Airports raised $1 billion through the sale of shares to investors, including US funds managed by BlackRock, last month. Delmos Aviation, which represents the two Russian carriers, has sought intervention from India’s Civil Aviation Ministry as about 2.5 metric tons of cargo is currently held up at Mumbai airport, while another 12.5 metric tons await clearance. Airport officials linked the restrictions to US sanctions on Russia, the Economic Times quoted Delmos Managing Director Naveen Rao as saying. India does not implement or enforce unilateral sanctions imposed by the US or the European Union, according to a 2026 India sanctions guide published by Chambers and Partners. Indian businesses, nevertheless, face growing exposure to US and EU secondary sanctions over continued commercial ties with Russia, leading private companies to adopt their own compliance measures. In July, US tech major Microsoft restored IT services – suspended under EU sanctions – to the Russian-backed Indian oil refinery Nayara Energy after a court challenge. Aeroflot operates daily flights between Delhi and Moscow. Bonded cargo, which is imported goods held under customs control before duties and fees have been paid, from Mumbai is normally processed through customs before being moved by truck to Delhi for onward shipment to Russia. That process has stalled for the two airlines, with trucks carrying some shipments forced to return to their point of origin.
Delmos has questioned whether the restrictions should apply to shipments where an Indian logistics company handles the physical movement and neither the shipper nor consignee is itself a sanctioned entity. It has also asked why the same restrictions don’t apply to Russia-related cargo carried from Mumbai by other international airlines, including Emirates, Turkish Airlines, and Ethiopian Airlines.Delmos is seeking a “clear, written and uniformly applicable policy,” Rao said in a September 30 letter to the ministry, reports said. The company is not seeking exemptions from Indian law, customs requirements, or airport security procedures.India and Russia are seeking to expand bilateral trade, which now stands at around $60 billion annually. The two countries also signed multiple trade agreements around the BRICS summit in New Delhi last month, as they seek to deepen economic and industrial cooperation.
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