Flying high
VINAY KUMAR
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With more airlines flying the skies and air travel becoming affordable, it is time to look at infrastructure development and the availability of facilities at Indian airports.
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nearly 60 per cent of those flying on no-frills, low-cost carriers are first-time flyers and the number only promises to increase.
NOT long ago, air travel in India was characterised by a limited number of domestic and foreign connections. The public sector carriers Air India and Indian Airlines determined fares. When the winds of liberalisation swept through the civil aviation sector 13 years ago, they brought in private carriers like Jet Airways and Air Sahara while others like ModiLuft, East West and Damania did not survive in the long-term.
From times when air tickets could be bought only at airline offices and through travel agents, the civil aviation sector has changed dramatically in the last decade. New private carriers, including low-cost ones, criss-cross the Indian skies. On a given day, a traveller can pick from 36 flights between Delhi and Mumbai at prices that include regular, discounted fares and bargain booked through the Internet. Private no-frills carriers offer to fly people at fares comparable to that of AC second-class tickets in trains.
High interest
Today, nearly 60 per cent of those flying on no-frills, low-cost carriers are first time flyers and the number only promises to increase. Global and regional interest in the Indian aviation sector has never been so high. Increasing number of travellers, more and newer airline operators, private-public partnerships to modernise airports and initial hiccups and delays giving way to new Greenfield airports being constructed at Bangalore and Hyderabad... civil aviation has never experienced such exciting times before. Low-cost carriers like Air Deccan, SpiceJet, GoAir and Indigo have launched operations and others like liquor baron Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher are making their presence felt. About three or four more carriers are waiting for clearances.
If airport infrastructure giants from as far as South Africa and Germany have teamed up with Indian companies to construct new, swanky, modern, world-class airports; aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing are ready to make huge investments to set up maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities in India. Boeing has been buoyant about its predictions on India, raising its 20-year market forecast for India for aircraft purchases to $ 72 billion.
Inadequate facilities
With more airlines criss-crossing the Indian skies and air travel becoming more affordable, the infrastructure facilities at airports have remained grossly inadequate as the Government failed to cash in on the opportunity in time.
So, metro airport terminals are bursting at the seams, even basic facilities are not of acceptable standards, travellers have to line up for entry and exit and wait for screening of their check-in baggage. At international terminals, the wait for immigration clearance can stretch on. Airports around the world have turned themselves into hubs of business and commercial activities, raking in revenues for their government but not yet in India.
While Mumbai airport in 2004-05 handled about 1,53,000 aircraft movements and 15.66 million passengers, Delhi airport handled 1,22,000 aircraft movements and 12.78 million passengers. Increased traffic and cargo growth has led to congestion and saturation at almost all metro airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai. The country badly needs new airports, expansion of capacity at existing airports, induction of technology for efficient handling of passenger and cargo and better management practices.
Air transport grew at seven per cent per annum in the first three years of the Tenth Plan as against a plan estimate of five. In 2004-05, the growth rocketed to 25 per cent and the trend continues in 2005-06. It is expected that air transport will register an average growth rate of 16-17 per cent every year and the aviation sector could well drive the growth of Indian economy.
In the recent past, the Government has been liberal in allowing bilaterals with other countries and an "Open Sky" policy has been allowed during peak season, permitting foreign carriers to operate as many services as they desire.
At the same time, the Government realised that the process of modernising, expanding and restructuring airport infrastructure to meet the growing demand and pressure of travellers on international and domestic terminals needed to be kick-started, as it should have taken off at least a decade ago.
The process of developing airports through public-private-partnership (PPP) began with Kerala's Cochin International Airport in 1993. The airport was made operational on June 10, 1999. Traditionally, airports in India were managed by Civil Aviation Department till the creation of International Airports Authority of India (IAAI) in 1972 and National Airports Authority (NAA) in 1986. In 1995, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) was established by merging both IAAI and NAA by an Act of Parliament for better and efficient management of all airports by a single authority. AAI manages 128 airports, which includes 15 international airports, eight custom airports, 25 civil enclaves and 80 domestic airports.
Public-private cooperation
Two new Greenfield airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad were approved on a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis with public-private participation. While Bangalore international airport, being built at Devanahalli, will cost about Rs. 1,930 crores; Hyderabad airport at Shamshabad will cost Rs. 1,761 crores. Both will be ready by mid-2008.
The process of modernisation and restructuring the Mumbai and Delhi airports, which had been in the pipeline for the past couple of years, hit the fast lane this year with contracts being awarded to GMR-Fraport for Delhi and GVK-South African Airports consortium for Mumbai. On May 3, the Mumbai and Delhi airports were handed over to the joint venture companies and both companies are busy finalising their master plans.
More development
The 12th meeting of the Committee on Infrastructure, held on June 8 under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, decided on the development of 35 non-metro airports — Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Agatti, Aurangabad, Agartala, Agra, Baroda, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Dimapur, Guwahatati, Jaipur, Jammu, Khajuraho, Nagpur, Patna, Port Blair, Pune, Rajkot, Ranchi, Raipur, Goa, Imphal, Indore, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore, Trichy, Thiruvananthapuram, Udaipur, Visakahapatnam and Varanasi.
While terminal buildings and airside development will be taken up by the AAI, city-side development will be taken up through public-private partnership or land lease and revenue sharing basis. The techno-feasibility report on 35 non-metro airports is likely to be submitted to the Government by next month. The Civil Aviation Ministry has also received proposals from State Governments for development of Greenfield airports at Mopa in Goa, Gangtok in Sikkim, Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra, Chakan, Pune in Maharashtra, Kannur in Kerala, Kohima in Nagaland, Hassan and Gulbarga in Karnataka, Halwara in Punjab and Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh.
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A success story
K.Venkiteswaran
Modern look: Inside Kochi airport.
COCHIN International Airport Limited (CIAL), the country's first Greenfield airport now in its eighth year of operation, has stood the test of time proving its detractors wrong.
The proposal to set up an international airport through Public Private Participation (PPP) had more detractors than supporters. It was felt the move would not succeed in a state known for militant trade unionism. Despite the odds stacked against them, the core group led by V.J. Kurian, an IAS officer, worked relentlessly to achieve their goal.
The government-sponsored project saw unprecedented public participation, especially from the Non Resident Indians. The airport company now has over 10,000 shareholders from over 29 countries who have been paid dividend twice at eight per cent and 10 per cent during the eight-year operation.
Total cost
The total project cost of the airport was about Rs. 315 crores. A paid up equity capital accounted for Rs. 85 crores while Rs. 218 crores was raised through a Term Loan. The remainder was raised through interest-free security deposits from various service providers like BPCL and Air India.
The aircraft movement in the domestic sector during 2005-06 was 9,531, an increase from 8,288 in the previous fiscal year, a growth rate of 15 per cent. The international sector registered a growth of 11 per cent, an increase from 10,323 in 2004-05 to 11,444 in 2005-06.
Passenger movement through the airport also registered an increase. In 2005-06, a total of 7,31,661 domestic passengers moved through the airport compared to 5,90,054 passengers the previous year, an increase of 24 per cent.
In the international sector, the growth rate was 14.77 per cent with 11,54,717 passengers availing of the airport's services in 2005-06 compared to 10,06,156 in 2004-05. Kochi is ranked fourth among Indian airports in terms of international passenger movement. The arrival of budget carriers has further increased passenger traffic. Air Deccan, the country's first domestic budget carrier, operates over 40 services a week to various destinations like Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai while the Wadia group's Go Air operates three services a week in the Mumbai-Kochi sector. In the international sector, Air India Express, the Sharjah-based Air Arabia and the Kuwait-based Jazeera Airways enable passengers to avail of the benefit of low fares.
The airport currently handles 136 international services and 154 domestic services a week. Given the increased traffic, the airport has embarked on periodic infrastructure development programmes. A three-storeyed, fully air-conditioned, new international arrival block with state-of-the-art facilities was opened on August 20 2005. The new block (built-up area 1,78,000 sq.ft.) was constructed at a cost of around Rs.19 crores and is capable of handling 1,200 passengers at a time during peak hour. The new departure block, when completed, will bring the total built-up area of the international terminal to 4,80,000 sq.ft.
Apron for A-380
Kochi airport is, perhaps, the first airport in the country to have the infrastructure to handle theA-380, the biggest passenger aircraft slated to hit the skies in the near future. An apron capable of handling this biggie — built at a cost of Rs. 2.8 crore — was inaugurated last year.
Another highlight is the runway — at 3.4 km, it is one of the longest in the country capable of handling wide-bodied jetliners.
The airport has drawn up a massive Rs. 3,500 crore master plan to earn revenue from commercial utilisation of the 440 acres under its ownership. The various projects include an 18-hole golf course, business centre, hotel chains, multiplexes, industrial and IT Parks and logistics centre.
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Winds of change
Ramnath Subbu, T.S. Shankar, Suresh Krishnamoorthy
Plans to expand: Traffic in airports around the country has increased tremendously. Photo: afp
WHILE the aviation sector seems to be set to take off, the long-suffering air traveller seems to have much to look forward to. As the expansion and modernisation of the four metro airports takes off, there is a buzz in the cities.
If things go according to plan, Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) will offer world-class conveniences and amenities to the traveller. The modernisation of the airport has been handed over to the Hyderabad-based GVK consortium, which comprises the Airports Company, South Africa and Bidvest Group. The consortium and the Aiports Authority of India have formed the Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (MIAL) for this purpose.
In Hyderabad, the old airport at Begumpet will soon give way to the swank new one at Shamshabad. Here, the modernisation is in the hands of the GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd., a joint venture promoted by the GMR Group with a 63 per cent stake. The other partners are Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (11 per cent), Government of Andhra Pradesh (13 per cent) and Airports Authority of India (13 per cent). The new airport is slated to be a state-of-the-art gateway with IT facilities to match the proliferation of IT companies in the city. Hyderabad is also a major centre for biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
With the growth of private airlines, the traffic in the airports has increased tremendously. Mumbai handles 37 per cent of the country's passenger traffic and caters to over 45 international airlines and 10 domestic carriers with more than 500 aircraft moving daily. Numbers best reflects the growth in the number of passengers: In 2003-04, it was 5.3 million international and 7.9 million domestic passengers; in 2004-05, the numbers had increased to 6.1million for international and 9.6 million for domestic passengers; 2005-06 saw 6.7 million international and 11.7 million domestic passenger pass through the airport.
Growth pattern
A similar growth pattern was seen in Chennai too. While the Anna International Terminal (AIT) registered a nine per cent growth in international traffic by handling 2,60,6638 passengers during 2005-06, the Kamaraj Domestic Terminal (KDT) recorded an impressive growth of over 29 per cent for two consecutive years — 2004-05 and 2005-06.
Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad, is stretched to the limit, with 16,000 passengers daily with 170 aircraft movements of 12 international and nine domestic airlines. Four years ago, flights touching Hyderabad were only about 35 to 40.
The growth in domestic air traffic is largely due to the emergence of low-cost carriers like Air Deccan, Go Air and Spice Jet, which have revolutionised air travel in India. Chennai Airport Director, Dinesh Kumar says, "Low cost carriers and the discounted air travel have changed the profile of air travellers."
Plans to modernise airports broadly encompass the areas of passenger facilities, terminals, and cargo. In Mumbai, MIAL will invest around Rs. 7,000 crore over the next 15 years in a phased manner. A three-phase plan — with the first phase of 100 days in May 2006 — has been put in place. The second phase of seven years will see the upgradation of the existing terminals 1A and the international terminal two. The third phase will see the implementation of the Master Plan, which includes building a brand new terminal, a new runway and a cargo complex.
Begumpet airport currently has 13 parking bays in operation around the new terminal block and five more are used as "night parking bays" on the Northern side, next to the old block. This is sufficient to handle the A 320 and Boeing 737. R.K. Singla, Director, Hyderabad Airport says the parking bays available now can comfortably handle flights considering the growth rate over the next three years, by which time Phase One of the International Airport at Shamshabad will be fully functional. The new airport will handle seven million passengers per annum and over 1,00,000 tonnes of cargo. Ultimately it will have a capacity to handle over 50 MPPA and a million tonnes of cargo. When it opens in 2008, its single terminal will have 10 contact boarding gates, 20 remote stands, 60 Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE) check-in desks, eight self check-in kiosks and 30 immigration counters.
In Chennai, the AIT handles 17 international flights (including both the national carriers) and the KDT caters to nine operators. "Indigo airline will shortly become the tenth," said Kumar adding that Chennai still enjoyed multi-modal transport in close range with local train services and bus services from the airport. Efforts are on to have a dedicated flyover to cater to vehicular traffic bound for the terminal buildings. In an effort to ease congestion due to bunching of flights, nearly12,000 sq.m. was being added in the AIT. Similarly in the KDT, over 800 sq.m. had been added by commissioning the Departure-II module where four domestic airlines operate.
Improvements
About improvements in the Chennai airport's operational area, Kumar prioritised strengthening the secondary runway, creating turning pad and rapid exit track, additional taxiing tracks and increasing parking bays. "Chennai is a designated airport for handling the 550 plus-seater Super-jumbo jet (Airbus-380s) and an exclusive parking bay has already been created," he said, adding that the Chennai airport would soon have four more additional parking bays, taking its total to 45.
Meanwhile, the Southern Regional Executive Director of AAI, Dr. K. Ramalingam, said the Airports Authority of India had projected a total of 11,00,000 movements for this year, which would be a whopping increase of 36.5 per cent. Against this backdrop, the talk of Chennai and Kolkata airports as being next in line for privatisation has gained momentum.
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