Airport operators may get ground services

The civil aviation policy, to be released in about a month, is likely to provide an additional revenue stream to private airport operators by allowing them to operate ground handling services.

At present, only state-owned Indian Airlines and Air India can operate these services for themselves as well as for others. Private carriers Jet Airways and Air Sahara take care of their own ground handling but cannot offer these services to others.

According to sources, the government has already informed the private consortiums participating in the programme for privatising the Delhi and Mumbai airports about this probable move.

"There is a need to increase the non-aeronautical revenues of airports. This is one of the ways," they said. Civil aviation ministry officials said such additional services would go a long way towards generating interest in the airports privatisation project.

It is estimated that ground handling services, which involve maintenance of an aircraft at an airport, ferrying of passengers, manning the check-in and baggage counters and baggage services, can generate Rs 300-400 crore at major airports. Recently, Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines had entered into a Rs 120 crore agreement with Indian Airlines for ground handling.

In France and the UK, airports are allowed to undertake these services. It is estimated that about 30 to 40 per cent of the revenue of an airport can be from services like ground handling.

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Fund take-off

At present, only state-owned Indian Airlines and Air India can operate these services

Such additional services may go a long way towards generating interest in the airports privatisation project

Ground handling services can generate Rs 300-400 crore at major airports, according to estimates