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IA to provide baggage handling services soon

By T.S. Shankar

CHENNAI March 4. As part of its long-term expansion plans of the Ground Support Division (GSD), the Indian Airlines is now confident of entering into "passenger baggage handling" services as a measure of providing complete services in the aviation sector.

"Our GSD is now a focussed unit and with the airline Chairman and Managing Director, Sunil Arora, laying greater emphasis on providing a much needed impetus to GSDs emerging as major profit-making centres, the prospects of the GSD becoming a sole agency to provide ramp handling services to its flights and handle other foreign carriers at the Indian airports have brightened, making a big foray into the domestic aviation scenario", said Yashvir Kumar, GSD Director, in an interview.

Pointing out that the IA, during the current year, had earned a revenue of Rs. 120 crores through ground handling, Mr. Kumar noted that of this, the share from the southern region was over Rs. 65 crores, mainly from Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram airports. "Our objective is to become either like the SATS in Singapore Changi airport or the DNATA in Dubai airport, providing a comprehensive service under one-umbrella", he said.

In all, the IA now handles a total of nearly 400 flights per week at Bangalore, Kozhikode, Chennai, Hyderabad, Trichy and Thiruvananthapuram, serving Lufthansa, Sri Lankan Airlines (both passenger and cargo) Singapore Airlines (SIA), Silk Air (subsidiary of SIA), Oman Air, Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, Malaysia Airlines System, Air India and My Travel Airways.

The GSD, Mr. Kumar said, had been provided with nine new ramp handling equipment to cater to the needs of the wide-bodied jets.

He was in Chennai to hold detailed talks with the Saudi Arabian Airlines authorities for arriving at a "mutual understanding" for providing ground handling services for their flights at the Anna International terminal here.

Saudia now operates four times-a-week service between the Gulf and Chennai.

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