What is your role as Secretary General of the Association of Private Airport Operators in India?
As Secretary General of the Association of Private Airport Operators (APAO), my primary role/ responsibility is to ensure that the Association represents the interests of its member airport operators with the prime objective of promoting the growth and development of the privatised major airports to truly world class standards, to promote and share knowledge of efficient airport operations and maintenance, to ensure the overall growth and developmen of major private airports, to enhance their contribution to the Indian Aviation Sector and the Indian economy. The role also involves to actively interact with the various Ministries /Government Bodies including the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), and with Industry Associations in India and globally to participate and contribute in all discussions and decisions pertaining to the development of the Indian Civil Aviation Sector in general and with primary focus on the Private Airports of India. It is also important for APAO to promote to the global aviation markets the success and achievements of its member airports in having developed world class airport infrastructure and service quality levels.
Which are the Private Airports on India and how are they different from the Airports under the AAI?
At present there are 14 airports operating under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in the country. These are Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (Ahmedabad), Kempegowda International Airport (Bangalore), Cochin International Airport (Cochin), Indira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi), Manohar International Airport (Goa), Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (Hyderabad), Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport (Lucknow), Mangaluru International Airport (Mangaluru), Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (Mumbai), Jaipur International Airport (Jaipur), Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport (Guwahati), Thiruvananthapuram International Airport (Thiruvananthapuram), Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport (Durgapur), Kannur International Airport (Kannur).
Currently there are two PPP greenfield airports that are being developed, which are the Navi Mumbai International Airport (Mumbai) and the Noida International Airport ( at Jewar, UP ). These two Airports are being developed by Adani Airports and Zurich International Airport respectively and these airports would serve as the second airport at Mumbai and Delhi respectively.
PPP airports are different from the AAI airports for their professional management, utilising private sector expertise for achieving better operational efficiencies, and for bringing in private equity funding/ investments. Airport projects are highly capital intensive with long gestation periods. Substantial investments are therefore needed to build world class airport infrastructure and facilities to cater to the increasing air passenger traffic and air cargo growth.
The PPP model has immensely helped create world class airports in India and also to deliver efficient and superior service quality levels to passengers and to all the other stakeholders operating in a PPP airport.
What are some of the important benefits from the privatization of Airports in India?
- Since 2006, significant private investments have been made by Indian PPP Airports in building world class airport infrastructure, while delivering the highest international service quality standards. PPP airports have deployed over INR 55,000 crore directly as capital expenditure till 2022-23. In the next 5-7 years an additional INR 30-35,000 crore is envisaged to be invested in developing new airports, and for the upgradation and modernization of existing airports in the country.
- Privatization of Airports have significantly helped AAI in enhancing its revenues/ profits and thereby being able to focus on developing airports and Air Navigation infrastructure in Tier-2, Tier-3 cities, and in under served places of the country. Revenues received by AAI from the PPP airports has also enabled AAI to upgrade and modernize many of their existing airports to international standards.
- Total Revenue share received by AAI just from DIAL (Delhi Airport) & MIAL (Mumbai Airport) is approx. INR 34,000 crore for the period FY 2006-07 to FY 2022-23.
- PPP Airports have enabled Airlines to achieve greater efficiencies and better streamlined operations with quicker turnaround leading to substantial reduction in fuel consumption and costs. Besides, it has helped the airlines in higher aircraft utilization and substantial improvements in their On Time Performance (OTP), thereby ensuring better passenger satisfaction.
- As per the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) the economic impact studies undertaken by them earlier on couple of PPP airports, it has revealed that the airports provide huge direct, indirect, and induced employment opportunities and substantial economic contributions to both the national and state GDP’s.
- Airport privatization in India has helped to adopt the global best practices in airport operations, service quality standards, and obtain best human talent to foster sustainable competitive advantage and improvised management of resources.
- Privatization brought the approach of increased emphasis on revenue enhancement, commercial and economic development, adoption of advanced technologies, focus on passenger facilities and seamless travel, operational efficiencies for all stakeholders at the airport, enhancing service quality standards, understanding the importance of economic viability of airports etc.
Do you see more Private Airports coming up in the near future?
As per the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), 25 existing AAI airports namely, Bhubaneshwar, Varanasi, Amritsar, Trichy, Indore, Raipur, Calicut, Coimbatore, Nagpur, Patna, Madurai, Surat, Ranchi, Jodhpur, Chennai, Vijayawada, Vadodara, Bhopal, Tirupati, Hubli, Imphal, Agartala, Udaipur, Dehradun and Rajahmundry have been earmarked for leasing over the years 2022 to 2025.
Further the annual passenger traffic is expected to increase three-fold to approx. 425 million by 2030 from the current 145 million. To cater to this increasing passenger traffic, development of new greenfield airports, expansion and modernization of existing brownfield airports/ terminals, building new terminals and runways, strengthening of existing runways etc. will be needed in the country. This will require huge capital investments and would need to be borne largely by the private airport developers as AAI alone would be unable to bring in such large investments.
What employment opportunities can the youth expect from the Private Sector Airports?
There are a lot of employment opportunities for youths at airports in various departments such as Airport Operations, Commercial Business, Public Relations, IT, HR, Legal, Corporate Communications, Cargo business operations, Ground Handling, F&B and Retail business, Duty-free business, Environmental issues, City side real estate development & landscaping, Airport Security, Customer Relations, etc.
Is there any significant trend for Airports all over the World?
The trend that has been adopted by airports in India and globally is the adoption of advanced technologies to address operational challenges and to provide a seamless passenger experience.
Is an MBA in Airport, Airline or Aviation Management a good qualification for the youth to have?
Yes, an MBA in Airport, Airline or Aviation Management is a very useful qualification, as it provides specialized knowledge on the aviation sector. It covers the various domain such as ground handling, customer care, cargo operations, aviation safety, fleet management, fueling management, aviation security and other issues related to the aviation industry. It provides knowledge regarding the modern methods and tools which are used in the aviation industry.
