India does not have an aviation hub and that is the big disadvantage for the country, says Angela Gittens, Director General of Airports Council International (ACI).

“The fact that India’s hubs are all outside the country is not a good thing. You want a hub in Delhi and in Mumbai, at the very least,” she said during an interaction with Business Line at the IATA annual general meeting at Cape Town, recently.

“Air India does not have the strength to be a hub carrier. India has to realise this reality. The country may be better off by allowing market forces to determine the winners and losers and let some of the other Indian carriers become the hub carriers,” she said.

Referring to the weakening market share of Air India, Gittens said the airline has not really been allowed to be a market carrier. “They have not been allowed to make business decisions. Air India needs to be operated as a business and not as a quasi Government agency,” she said.

Airports Council International is the global trade representative of the world’s airports. Established in 1991, ACI represents airports interests with Governments and international organisations such as International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), develops standards, policies and recommended practices for airports.

Communication GAP

Speaking about the high airport charges in some of the key cities in India, Gittens said airport charges in the country hadn’t been raised over the last 10 years. “But nothing has stayed the same in the last 10 years. So, these were a combination of “catch-up” charges, for infrastructure, because of the development of new airports in Delhi and Mumbai. For me, this was more of an issue of communication. Quite frankly, the Government should have communicated to all the stakeholders in advance and chalked out the plan before them and told them how much it was going to cost,” she said.

“But where is the money going to come from? If you are going to invest millions of dollars in infrastructure, that’s got to be paid for. So, I think it is unfortunate that something that really should have been good has turned out to be rather unpleasant.”

India has benefited from new facilities and much more functional facilities and better operation at its key airports, she added.

With two major airports in India — Chennai and Kolkata — having been modernised and upgraded by Airports Authority of India, the Government is planning to privatise the management control. Gittens said that with the growth in the aviation sector happening faster than development of facilities, it “makes sense” to outsource certain areas. “It may not be realistic to expect that one airport authority will be able to manage all that growth right away. When you privatise something, it is not necessary forever. It is a breathing spell — to give time to catch your breath,” she said.

nivedita.ganguly@thehindu.co.in

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