It’s 10.30am on a Monday and for the 18-member Buddha Air cargo team, its business as usual. They are busy processing cargo shipments from all over Nepal and closely coordinating with outstations for inbound cargo.
Right then, the front desk officer receives a call from a customer who is in a desperate need to send some emergency medicines for his ailing father back home in Dhangadhi. The front desk officer assures him that the cargo team will take the consignment (emergency medicines) on top priority.
The customer is advised to go to the Buddha Air counter at the airport to drop off the medicine. Arrangements are made to ensure the consignment is handled with utmost care and attention and the emergency medicine reaches the intended destination on the same day. This is how Buddha Air cargo staffs strive to provide reliable and prompt service to all the customers.
This is one of many stories that are symbolic of Buddha Air’s understanding of customers’ needs and concerns in carrying out cargo operations. At Buddha Air, the staffs understand that some cargo shipments can be very sensitive.
That is why the company has been offering free cargo services for life-saving drugs intended for distribution all over Nepal by Naya Health Nepal functioning under the United Nations. Moreover, other charitable goods collected from all over the world that are proposed for the betterment of Nepalese outside of Kathmandu are taken care of by the cargo team as an attempt to give back to the Nepalese society.
First private sector cargo train from India arrives in Birgunj
Our cargo operations have helped our customers especially during the time of earthquake and fuel crisis last year. Emergency medicines were shipped out to Nepalgunj and Dhangadhi and then distributed to places like Surkhet, Humla, and Jumla from there. “Customers can reach out to us at 014477321 or 9801033421 in case of emergencies. Despite the challenges of making a shipment right away, we are better prepared to face emergencies head on” says Sambhavi Bastakoti, head of cargo operations at Buddha Air.
On some days, customers like Mr Ravi Sherchan reach out to us worried about leaving his beloved pet ‘Kali’ back home. In such instances, Buddha Air offers facilities of carrying live domestic pets in a pet box through our baggage/cargo compartments. That way, both Mr Sherchan and Kali can travel safely together assured about each other’s companionship. Apart from live domestic pets, Buddha Air offers cargo service of perishable items such as meat products, vegetables, flowers, as well as valuable goods, human remains, and fragile cargo. For human bodies, however, customers need to charter the aircraft and fulfill medical and legal requirements.
For customers like Ms Sweta Tandukar who want to ship valuable items like gold, silver, or items like hospital equipment, insurance documents are mandatory for such valuable items. Although the Warsaw Convention has guaranteed compensation amounting to $20 per kg in case of losses, Buddha Air understands that personal documents like certificates are invaluable in the sense that money can’t buy them and that they can make or break a career. In such instances, the company appeals to its customers to be fully transparent and to declare the shipment items so that valuables are treated with the extra special care and attention they deserve.
Despite Buddha Air’s continual commitment to simplify cargo procedures for its customers, there are times when certain shipments can’t be made purely because of safety concerns. For Buddha Air, passengers’ safety comes first and hence, all efforts are aligned to ensure safety first and foremost.
