Ground handlers body GHAI seeks Home ministry intervention

Seeking Union Home Ministry's intervention in security and safety related issues, particularly self-handling by airlines, in the proposed aviation policy, Ground handlers body GHAI today expressed hope that the Government will address its concerns before finalising it.
The Ground Handling Association of India (GHAI) has sought time from Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to convey their concerns on certain policy provisions, GHAI Secretary General Arvind Kumar said today.
The GHAI has sought Home Ministry's intervention at a time when the Civil Aviation Ministry is in the process of taking the policy to the Cabinet for its approval.
Ground handling, a key aspect of the aviation sector, generally refers to services provided to an aircraft while it is parked at an airport.

"We have requested for a meeting with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh as we want to convey our concerns to him on certain provisions relating to aviation security and safety in the Draft National Civil Aviation Policy. The Policy provides for unqualified and unlimited number of ground handling agencies, which need to be relooked before taking a final call on them," Kumar said.
Under the proposed policy, airlines and ground handlers have been permitted to hire contract labour (up to one year), which could result in security risk, he said.

Rajnath Singh has chaired the two meetings of informal Group of Ministers on the issue held in last two months.

GHAI, a grouping of eight ground-handling agencies, claim that its members account for about Rs 750 crore of the estimated Rs 3,000-crore domestic ground-handling market.
The Association had last month met Singh's deputy Kiren Rijiju and senior Home Ministry officials in this regard, he said adding, they have also "justified" their concerns.
According to the GHA the proposed previsions in the policy breaks firewalls and increases interaction numbers and data points.
Besides, proper background checks of all contract labour may also not be possible, it said.
Under the draft civil aviation policy, which has been prepared after long-drawn consultations, the government has proposed a new framework to replace the Ground Handling Policy of 2010.

The Civil Aviation Ministry has mooted the idea of self- handling by local carriers and charter operators, besides suggesting that there is need to have at least three ground handling agencies at an airport, which the GHAI is opposed to.