The Hindu Business Line : Indian airports cry out for new wings of flight

The much-touted civil aviation policy has been debated at length. Precious time has slipped by and, with it, opportunities and credibility. India needs to think big, plan boldly, and act fast.

ONE may well relate the spectacle during winter's foggy days at IGI airport in New Delhi with the familiar chaos at busy railway platforms. It will help comprehend the enormity of the problem our airports will soon face, even those that have no fog to contend with.

Chaos may soon reign in these airports with low budget airlines discharging hundreds of passengers every hour. Or, when super jumbos bring in large number of international flights. The "open skies" as a consequence of de-strangulation of the aviation sector will see a sizeable increase in passenger numbers.

For international air travel, a new plane, A380 (earlier A3XX), unveiled on January 18, heralds a new aviation era. With a range of over 14,000-16,000 km, operating non-stop flights, say, between, New Delhi-New York, Mumbai-Melbourne, or Tokyo-NewYork, the plane's internal layout is of typical configuration, with passengers seated on the two upper decks and cargo on the lower deck.

The plane may have a provision for shops and lounges, sleeper cabins, crew rest areas, business centres, and even a crèche. Two desk models — A380-800 passenger model seating up to 555 in three classes and A380-800 F freighter version with 150 tonne of freight — are currently being marketed. A380 is planned for commercial service in October 2005 by Singapore Airlines.

The new plane enjoins upon air terminals to substantially expand space availability in passenger handling areas, optimise airport apron designs for multiple aircraft stands, provide new flexible aerobridges, including main and upper deck aircraft access, and services such as nose-in guidance systems. Airports in Melbourne, London, New York, Hong Kong, and Paris have either built or are building a new larger infrastructure to cope with the A380.

Of the a total of 449 airports/airstrips in India, the AAI (Airports Authority of India) owns and manages 92 of them, besides 28 civil enclaves at defence airfields. Besides the five major international airports (Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram) and six developing ones (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Goa, Guwahati, Amritsar), there are eight customs airports. The 19 airports that matter, together handle about 50 million passengers and about one million tonne of cargo per annum.

Airports, even the metropolitan ones are grossly inadequate. Not one from India is among the five biggest Asian airports — Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing and Seoul. Beijing has just completed a new $1.9 billion air terminal. Designed by British architect, Norman Foster, Beijing airport reflects "the poetry of flight". Its capacity will increase from 27 million to 48 million passengers a year. During 1996-2000, China invested $8 billion in airport construction. In 2000 alone, airport investment aggregated $2.4 billion for Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. Air routes to China represent five of the top ten fastest growing traffic flows.

Existing domestic airports in the country require significant infrastructural improvements in areas such as runways, air traffic control, communications, navigation, ground handling, landside facilities, adequate road and rail connectivity, baggage retrieval belts, cloak room/left luggage and lockers, travel and hotel representation, shopping and surfing wherewithal, entertainment and advertising facilities, facilities for inter-terminal transfers, parking spaces, taxi services, helpdesks, bank counters, shops and kiosks, and the requisite amenities.

Airports play a significant role in driving the economy — they contribute to the international competitiveness, flow of foreign investment, and growth in tourism. Foreign exchange transactions in India to the extent of $22.5 billion are directly facilitated by civil aviation; another $ 96 billion indirectly through civil aviation services. More than 95 per cent of tourist arrivals in the country are by air.

Tourism is India's second largest foreign exchange earner. Air services facilitate growth of trade, especially in critical components, valuables and perishables. About 40 per cent of India's external trade (by value) is carried by air. Air passenger and cargo growth over India's Tenth Plan (2002-07) is projected to be between 5-7.5 per cent per annum for domestic and international traffic. These calculations do not adequately reflect the immediate potential of upsurge in aviation businesses. Indian airports registered a 20 per cent growth in passenger traffic during the current year. In the next 20 years, a quantum jump in aviation business is forecasted: Passenger traffic by four times and cargo traffic six-fold.

India has already lost out on aviation. It missed the travel boom of the 1990s; it ceded its natural geographic and economic advantage as a cargo and passenger hub. Air travel still remains restricted to a minuscule section of domestic population.

India accounts for less than three million tourist arrivals a year, in comparison with some 750 million worldwide and 150 million in the Asia pacific region. Air seat capacity in China increased by almost 500 per cent over the last decade; in India, it increased by 64 per cent. The much-touted civil aviation policy has been discussed to death; debating has gone on for years. Precious time has slipped by and, with it, opportunities and credibility. Of late, Mr Praful Patel has accelerated the process, notwithstanding the constant constraints imposed by the comrades.

India needs to think big, plan boldly, and act fast. Its big neighbour has amply demonstrated how gargantuan core infrastructural projects can be implemented in a short period of time.

(The author is former Managing Director, Concor.)

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