Most non-metro airports still in the red

A total of 27 out of the 35 non-metro airports that have been taken up for development suffered a total loss of Rs 172.64 crore in 2006-07. Six of these made a loss of more than Rs 10 crore each.

The six airports with the highest losses were Guwahati, which took a hit of Rs 28 crore, and Varanasi, Lucknow, Bhubaneshwar, Agartala and Patna, all of which incurred a loss of around Rs 10 crore each.

Experts blame small increase in airline and passenger traffic, which, they say, have not kept pace with the investment in airport infrastructure.

For instance, Lucknow airport, which incurred a loss of Rs 10.59 crore, saw passenger traffic rise only 11.9 per cent and aircraft traffic decline by 2.9 per cent. Bhopal, which incurred a loss of Rs 10.15 crore, saw its passenger traffic rise by only 14.8 per cent and aircraft movement decline by 6.6 per cent.

On the other hand, a small airport like Raipur in Chhattisgarh cut down its losses by almost 300 per cent on the back of an 81 per cent increase in passenger traffic and a 76 per cent increase in aircraft movement.

Port Blair earned a profit of Rs 2.52 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 2.84 crore last year, on the back of a 118 per cent increase in the number of flights and a 146 per cent rise in passenger traffic.

"Smaller airports largely depend on aircraft movement because their only revenue sources are aeronautical charges like landing, housing and parking charges. Some airlines have deployed larger aircraft at these airports and have not increased the number of flights. So while their revenues from passengers have increased, our revenues have not," said an AAI official.

"Also, most of these airports have only started modernising themselves and the expenses right now are not commensurate with the revenues. One can expect profits only when the work gets over in 2-3 years," he added

One such instance is Patna. While the passenger traffic in 2006-07 rose by 43 per cent, the number of aircraft it handled was up a mere 19 per cent.