India defers policy to privatise ground services at airports

August 21st, 2009 MUMBAI - The Anil Ambani Group's Reliance Airport Developers Ltd (RADL) has bagged contracts worth a total Rs.63 crore (Rs.630 million) to develop airports at Yavatmal, Nanded, Osmanabad, Latur and Baramati in Maharashtra, according to an official announcement here Friday. The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has been given the green signal to sign the agreements with RADL as part of the government's move to privatise five airports in the state.

August 20th, 2009 KOLKATA - Rubbishing talk that efforts are on to privatise the Indian Railways, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday said she would be the last person to do so. "In some quarters there is mischievous talk that we are trying to privatise the railways.

July 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has lost Rs.65.58 lakh in equipment purchases for various international airports, the country's official auditor said Thursday. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said in its report tabled in parliament that AAI purchased X-Ray baggage inspection systems (X-BIS) that screen the luggage of passengers at airports for Delhi and Mumbai airports despite the government's efforts to privatise these airports.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Out of a total plan outlay of Rs.12,165 crore for the civil aviation ministry, a sum of Rs.190 crore will be provided as budgetary support to various organisations under the ministry, the government said Monday after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the annual budget in Parliament. Out of the Rs.190 crore, India's airport developer, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been allocated Rs.99.15 crore for development of airports.

June 24th, 2009 CHENNAI - The Tamil Nadu government is in the process of acquiring land for expansion and modernisation of metro and non-metro airports in the state. According to a policy note Transport Minister K.N.

April 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A planned nationwide two-day strike by 15,000 airport employees from Thursday midnight has been called off after the government agreed to discuss their grievances, a civil aviation ministry spokesperson said. 'The strike, called by the employees of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), has been called off,' the official said.

April 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Indian government Thursday asked airports around the country to adopt heightened security measures after an intelligence tip-off of a possible terror attack. Official sources confirmed that a red alert has been sounded at airports across the country, especially in the four metros, as well as in Hyderabad, Bangalore and at some international airports like Amritsar.

March 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Helicopters will soon get separate corridors for landing at all major airports in the country, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said Monday. 'This would minimise traffic chaos at the airports, where wide-bodied aircraft share their space with choppers also,' the official said.

March 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The country's airports operator, Airports Authority of India (AAI), Friday said airline operators owe it Rs.11 billion (Rs.1,100 crore), of which Air India alone has to pay RS.7 billion (Rs.700 crore). 'We are in the process of settling this issue with the airlines.

March 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The international airports at Chennai, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram, Goa and Ahmedabad will soon get the government's nod to levy development fee on passengers to raise funds for their expansion, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said Thursday. 'We are doing this to bridge the capital funding gap.

February 22nd, 2009 PANAJI - The number of airports in India will go up from the present 85 to about 400 in the next 10 years, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said here Saturday. It was a busy day for Patel, who visited three cities to inaugurate two new air terminals and lay the foundation stone of a third.

February 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel was on an overdrive Friday, flying to as many as five cities during the day to kickstart the upgrade and modernisation projects of their airports. If 8:30 a.m.

February 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government has approved the formation of separate joint venture companies between National Aviation Co of India Ltd (NACIL) and Singapore Air Terminal Services (SATS) for cargo and ground handling activities at various airports, an official statement said. NACIL, which also owns Air India, has already bagged contracts for three projects, to be executed with SATS - a Rs.99-crore (Rs.990 million) cargo handling contract and a Rs.73-crore (Rs.730-million) ground handling contract from Bangalore airport authorities, apart from a Rs.80-crore (Rs.800-million) ground handling contract from the Hyderabad airport developer.

January 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - A new aviation regulator - the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) - will come into effect by March 31 this year, according to a ministry official. 'AERA has been notified in the gazette.

December 30th, 2008 NEW DELHI - The government has postponed by at least six months the implementation of the new ground-handling policy at airports, expected to come into force Thursday, an official said Wednesday. 'The implementation of the new ground-handling policy has been deferred by six months or until further order,' said a spokesperson of the civil aviation ministry.