Plane truth: Airports are a mess

The waiting in lounges will be longer for tourists arriving at India's international airports.

It takes 18 hours to fly from New York to New Delhi. Then it takes two hours to cross the turnstile at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The waiting in lounges will be longer for tourists arriving at any of the India's 11 international airports this holiday season. The country is expecting a 30 per cent jump in passenger arrivals and foreign airlines are adding 2,000 flights to cater to the spiralling demand. An already creaky airport infrastructure will now be stretched that much more.

According to the International Air Transport Association's (IATA's) Global Airports Monitor, the Delhi and Mumbai airports, the two principal gateways from India, scored 2.6 and 2.3, respectively, on its passenger satisfaction index. The Asian average is 3.5 and the global average is 3.7.

Passport inspection facilities at Delhi score 2.7 and at Mumbai 2.3 on the IATA scale, far below the Asian average of 3.5 and the global average of 3.6. Customs inspection at Delhi scores 2.8 and Mumbai 2.6. The Asian average is 3.6 and the global average 3.7.

The problems facing the Delhi and Mumbai airports, which handle 49 per cent of the international passenger traffic and generate 33 per cent of the revenue for the Airports Authority of India (AAI), are formidable. Their terminals are approaching saturation point and their runways and taxiways are woefully inadequate.

No major investment has been made in these two airports in five years because of drawn-out plans to privatise them. The AAI, on its part, cannot pump money into these two airports because of its investment commitment for developing other airports.

Government estimates show the two principal airports need an investment of Rs 5,000-10,000 crore each over the next five years if they are to come anywhere near international standards.

The government and AAI hope that privatisation will improve the situation. In the interim, the government is pumping in about Rs 90 crore to spruce up facilities. Besides, 23 non-metro airports are being developed and five greenfield airports are under way.

Despite the grim prognosis, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel is optimistic.

"The airports in India need definite improvement. We are taking steps in that direction. We will have better airport infrastructure across the country in the next few years. Modernisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports will improve the situation and we expect that India will become a global aviation hub."