Kochi: Qatar Airway’s Kochi-Dubai flight recently had a special guest onboard as the Cochin International Airport introduced the facility to transport pets abroad. The move, a first in airports of Kerala, brings cheers to pet owners who had to leave behind their pets while moving abroad. On Thursday morning, a Lhasa Apso breed puppy named 'Luka' made history as the first pet to fly from Kochi to Dubai via Doha. The pet cargo was handled by Qatar Airways. Luka belongs to Rajesh Susheelan and Kavitha Rajesh from Attingal, Thiruvananthapuram. Rajesh manages a business in Dubai.

To support the pet export service, CIAL has established a 24-hour air-conditioned pet station, a special cargo section, a veterinary doctor on call, a customs clearance centre, and a facilitation centre for individuals accompanying pets for export. Previously, CIAL had authorisation only for domestic departure and arrival for the pets. Now, with the clearance, pets can be carried as cargo in specially prepared cages to all foreign countries. Efforts are also underway to obtain permission for the direct import of pet animals from abroad. To facilitate this, a special 'Animal Quarantine' centre is being established. In addition to the pet export facility, CIAL already has permission to export and import fruits and plants. To facilitate this, a ‘Plant Quarantine’ centre is operational near the cargo section. To avail of this service, cargo handling agencies or airlines need to be contacted.

S Suhas IAS, managing director of CIAL, emphasized the management's objective to equip Cochin airport with the same standards of facilities found in India's leading airports. “We are trying to offer a comprehensive package to our passengers. As part of this, all passenger touchpoints have been automated and various value-added facilities have been established. The implementation of the animal import facility is underway. Also, sophisticated security systems like full-body scanners will be introduced soon,” Suhas said.

CIAL now has authorization from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to import drugs and cosmetics, enabling stockists to import them and stock them in bulk quantities. This marks a significant change from previous limitations, where only limited quantities could be imported through special permissions.