Airport privatisation takes wings

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Privatisation appears to be stalking Chennai airport. While private players man six airports in the country, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, the airports at Chennai and Kolkata are still under the management of Airports Authority of India (AAI). However, now with the government keen on moving along with the global trend of privatisation, the city airport could soon be privatised.
AAI chairman V.P.

Agarwal said that a private player might soon take over operations of Chennai airport. “The planning commission insists on privatising the city airport. Once the civil aviation ministry and state government take a final call, we will float tenders to identify the private player,” he added.

Though AAI is not interested in privatising Chennai airport, when the need arises, the authority might hold 51 per cent of the stake so as to own the airport and let the private party handle the operations. “Right now, the whole issue is just in the concept stage and we are working towards commissioning the new terminals at the city airport,” he added.

In what could be a related development, 57 officers, six of them terminal managers, have been given mid-term transfers to airports in Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, while 250 class-D employees have been asked whether they would prefer voluntary retirement.

A senior airport official said the transfer order in mid-July baffles them, as the organisation normally issues such orders by March.

A few union members feel that the transfers could be a prelude to privatisation, as the authority thinks that these officials might create trouble while the process takes place.

However, another group feels it was a routine affair, as the transfers were pending for those who had served for more than three to five years in Chennai.