Date:13/06/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/06/13/stories/2006061302190700.htm

Back Ground handling: Ministry may restrict number of agencies

Ashwini Phadnis

The move is aimed at bringing about standardisation at airports

The earlier Vajpayee Government was also keen to restrict the number of players be allowed to do ground handling

New Delhi , June 12

The Ministry of Civil Aviation is of the opinion that ground handling activities at the six metro airports be restricted to a few players including the Airports Authority of India or the joint venture partner chosen to run the airports — an independent agency to be chosen by the competitive bidding process and either Air India or Indian Airlines.

Official sources told Business Line that the Ministry was of the opinion that such a move would help bring about "standardisation and maintenance of operations" at these metro airports.

Ground handling work has two basic parts — passenger handling at the landside and ramp handling that includes loading and unloading of aircraft and aircraft handling.

Restricting agencies

"At present this is just a thinking of the Ministry. A clearer picture on the Government's view on this matter will emerge only after the issue is debated and approved by the Cabinet," a senior official of the Ministry of Civil Aviation added. Interestingly, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government was also keen to restrict the number of players allowed to do ground handling work at domestic airports after a number of security breaches were reported from airports around the country.

However, after some airlines protested the move saying their USP was the ground handling activities that they were offering to the customers, the implementation of the proposal was put in abeyance.

Ground handling

At present, the six metro airports where the Ministry is keen to implement its latest thinking are: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

While the airports in Delhi and Mumbai have already been handed over to a consortium headed by the GMR and GVK group to restructure and modernise them, work is progressing at a fast pace to complete the new airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore.

However, at the other airports in the country, which are to be managed by the Airports Authority of India, airlines would be allowed to continue to do their own ground handling activities, sources indicated.