The former chief executive officer of GVK's Bangalore airport is set to take over as the new chief operating officer (COO) of Delhi airport, operated by the GMR group.
Marcel Hungerbuehler, till recently, was the chief executive officer of Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL), will join as the head of Delhi International Airport (DIAL). Hungerbuehler, who worked as the senior vice-president at Swissport, Zurich, before his stint in Bangalore, came into the project as a part shareholder in Zurich Airport.
The change of guard at Bangalore came in 2011 after GVK purchased 12 per cent stake, which belonged to Zurich Airport, in the venture. The latter still retains five per cent in the project, while the GVK has 29 per cent stake.
Hungerbuehler, an executive of Zurich Airport, will replace Peter Noyce.
As the COO, he will oversee both terminal operations and air side. Delhi is the busiest airport in the country with over 800 movements each day and a COO has to oversee flight movements and baggage handling among other things.
Last year, Delhi Airport ranked the fourth best for service quality among airports handling 25-40 million passengers annually.
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Hungerbuehler takes over at a time when regulatory hurdles are weighing down on the sector as the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority plans to regulate the revenues of airports which were commercially bid by the companies.
The appointment, however, is bound to raise eyebrows keeping in mind the no-poaching arrangement that the two infrastructure majors have among themselves.
Confirming the appointment, a GMR spokesperson said, "Hungerbuehler was not a GVK employee. After GVK group took over Zurich Airport's stake in BIAL, it had an option to renew work agreements of Zurich's employees. However Hungerbuehler's contract at BIAL was expiring and he chose to return.”
A GVK spokesperson too said that since Hungerbuehler was not a GVK employee, they will not be breaking the no-poaching agreement between the groups. Even if the rule has not been broken in this case, there have been cases where it was.
"As far as we are concerned this position has not changed. However, we understand a few executives of GMR have been recruited by the GVK Group in contravention of the understanding," said a GMR spokesperson.