Fix the nuts & bolts

Aviation Minister Praful Patel's move to give a facelift to 35 non-metro airports in the country at a cost of Rs 6,000 crore is welcome, since India's aviation infrastructure is light years behind the rest of the world.

Indian airports are already bursting at their seams even though there are only 170-odd planes criss-crossing India's skies. That number will jump to over 400 in the next five years.

There is no doubt that Mr Patel's efforts to provide contemporary airports in towns like Ranchi, Varanasi, and Guwahati, will be a powerful signal that India's shabbily-run aviation sector is going to perk up.

If the Airports Authority of India is sitting on free reserves of almost Rs 1,300 crore, it's not because of efficiency but due to the fact that the authority has failed to reinvest its reserves in the interest of passenger convenience and comfort, even as it has raised airport charges.

But the minister should move fast. Consider China, which has emerged as the world's fastest-growing air freight market. Beijing has just completed a new $1.9 billion air terminal and its capacity is set to increase from 27 million to 48 million passengers a year.

If Mr Patel wants to make a lasting contribution, he should also look beyond airport terminal buildings and glance at the rest of the airport infrastructure.

For example, Mr Patel wants Delhi airport to have four runways instead of the existing two as it is projected to handle a traffic of 50 million passengers annually, against 10 million now.

This makes sense as the country's major airports handle a maximum of 24 flights an hour, as against 45 to 50 in busy international airports. But Delhi already has two runways, and one of them is used for passenger airways only in emergency situations.

Reason: the defence ministry wants it for the exclusive use of Indian Air Force planes. Also, the government version is that Mumbai airport cannot be expanded as there is no land available.

This is not true as over 3 million squatters have occupied prime airport land, and the real problem is that no one has the political will to acknowledge the problem and look at resettlement schemes.

Also, people like G R Gopinath of Air Deccan say that priority should be given to putting in place proper landing instruments, which will ensure that a flight can land with just 1.5 km visibility. These instruments cost only Rs 1.5 crore.

Mr Patel should also look at the archaic rules that govern the sector. Any violation of aircraft rules, for example, now attracts a fine of Rs 250 to Rs 500""a reason why neither the enforcer nor the violator bothers.

Then, many Asian countries have started issuing electronic visas and implemented advance passenger information systems which expedite the processing of information related to visitors ahead of their arrival. Also, several countries have started issuing swipe cards for providing fast-track channels to those who are willing to pay