Hyderabad airport to get city check-in, bus facilities

Hyderabad Airport is planning to open city check-in facilities and dedicated bus services for passengers boarding a flight from Shamshabad airport which will be operational by next year.

When these facilities come up, they will act as passenger terminals inside the city with check-in counters, baggage belts and baggage security check equipment.

A passenger boarding a flight from Shamshabad airport can check in at these places, deposit his luggage, and obtain his boarding pass and luggage tag and then avail himself of a dedicated luxury bus service which will take him from the city to the airport.

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) has already acquired land at two locations "" 2,500 acres near the Paryatak Bhavan beside the existing Begumpet Airport, and 4,000 acres near the Secunderabad railway station "" to set up the facilities, a GMR official said.

The airport developer is currently in talks with various airlines, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and the ground-handling agents commissioned at the Hyderabad greenfield airport for taking the matter further.

For the bus services which will start from March next year, the GHIAL is currently in talks with several operators like Orix and Avis Rentals for 150 low-floored, air-conditioned buses which will ferry passengers from various stops in the city to the airport. A part of the capacity will be deployed for ferrying passengers from the city check-in facility to the airport.

According to GMR officials, the check-in and bus service facilities will help reduce travel time for the passengers in the long run.

"GHIAL has a dedicated team working with the government traffic departments to identify various road corridors across the city which are used by air travellers and face traffic congestion problems. We will also study flight timing, the various classes of passengers and the sections of the city where they come from," said a GHIAL official.

However, there are several issues to be solved before the check-in facility comes up. "An airline has to take a call on whether it can invest money and deploy manpower for a separate facility inside the city. Only an airline with sufficient traffic out of that city will be willing to make such an investment. Also, the airport authorities, BCAS and the ground-handling agents have set in place certain regulatory measures like the time when the passenger has to come for check-in, how the luggage is best transferred on time, among others," an executive of a low-cost carrier which has prominent operations out of Hyderabad said.