The Centre has said that the Karnataka government has not agreed to hand over the additional land required for the runway safety basic strip at Mangaluru airport.
In a written reply to a query by the Dakshina Kannada MP, Capt Brijesh Chowta, in Lok Sabha on Thursday, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, stated that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has leased out Mangaluru International Airport to Mangaluru International Airport Ltd (MaIAL) for better operations, management and development under public-private partnership (PPP) model.
MaIAL had estimated an additional land requirement of 32.97 acres for the ‘Runway Safety Basic Strip’. Subsequently, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) requested the Government of Karnataka (GoK) to hand over this land to AAI, free of cost.
“However, GoK had not agreed to the same as Mangalore Airport is being operated under PPP. Subsequently, AAI has been directed by MoCA to address the matter in accordance with Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India guidelines to ensure that operational safety and efficiency of the airport is maintained while mitigating any potential adverse impact on user tariffs,” he said in the reply.
Point of Call
To another question by the MP on granting Point of Call (PoC) status to Mangaluru Airport to enable international airlines to share codes and enhance connectivity, the Minister said the international operations of airlines are governed by a bilateral Air Services Agreement (ASA) between India and the respective country. In accordance with ASA, Indian designated carriers are free to mount operations to/from any point in India, including Mangaluru, to foreign destinations as per mutually agreed capacity limits, while any designated foreign airline can operate to/from a point in India if it is designated as a PoC in the ASA.
“At present, the Government of India promotes more international operations by Indian carriers from non-metro points either directly or through their own domestic operations. Accordingly, new non-metro points, including Mangalore, are not being granted as PoC in the ASA to any foreign country,” he said.