The Hindu Business Line : One airport or two?

The suggestion from the Parliamentary Standing Committee that the existing airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore be retained even after the new private airports open over the next few weeks is an echo of the sentiments that have been expressed by a section of air travellers. There are two aspects of the transition that they have all found annoying. One, both the airports are now farther away from the city centres than the current ones. That means increased commuting times, m ade even longer by the abysmal state of the connecting roads, and higher taxi fares. The distance per se is no strange issue; the airports at Kolkata and Mumbai are just as far away from the central business district, but the sloth in building the connecting roads is clearly showing up. Two, the proposed levy on every passenger of a user development fee of Rs 950 in Bangalore and Rs 1,000 in Hyderabad mocks at the fare-cutting tactics of the low-cost carriers for that could easily increase the cost of some tickets by as much as 40 per cent.

Infusion of competition in any business is always good for the consumer. India has been witness to some substantial and dramatic benefits being conferred on consumers with the dismantling of government monopoly services. With 14 scheduled airlines wooing passengers, air travel today is distinctly cheaper and more popular than it used to be in the monopoly days of Indian Airlines in the domestic skies. Providing both airlines and passengers a choice of airports in a city will undoubtedly ratchet up the competitive pressures and ensure higher service levels at the airports. That would be in the best interests of the consumer.

Yet there are two important reasons why two airports may not be appropriate just now. The first is legal: When the private developers signed the concession agreements with the government, there was a specific clause that conceded the closure of the existing airports. Going back on the promise would be a breach of contract by the Government. The second is traffic may be inadequate in either city to make operations in both airports viable as of now for those who run them, and the splitting of flights between the airports may make life difficult for any transit passengers.

On balance, therefore, it may be better for the government to stick to its word and close down the old airports in the two cities. For their part, the private airport operators should drop their plans to charge a user development fee. It would be insensitive to ask passengers to pay a premium, at least till their commute is made shorter and more pleasurable. The operators will be pinched by the loss, but considering that passenger throughput in the two cities doubled in two years, there should be ample compensation coming their way quickly from other sources such as landing fees and non-aeronautical services.

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