Take off on the wings of transparency

• Follow

The first exercise under the National Monetisation Pipeline has begun with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) giving its nod to hand over 13 smaller airports to private players. The ownership of the airports though will remain in the hands of the government. The plan is to club six bigger airports with seven smaller ones. This would mean developing the smaller airports as well which normally get the short shrift. With proper development and improved facilities, the traffic at these airports can increase substantially, thereby making them profitable. This will also help in expanding the footprint of aviation in the country.

India has over 100 airports, most of which run the AAI. Most of these airports look run-down with poor management and facilities. The four biggest airports in the country – Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad – have already been privatised. These airports offer services that are on a par, if not better, with airports abroad. The first greenfield private airport in India in Kochi is also an example of how efficient private airports can be.

The government should also make sure that the bidding process is transparent and the sale does not lead to a monopoly in the industry. Last year Adani Enterprises won the bids for all the six airports on offer – Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati. It has already taken over three – Lucknow, Mangalore and Ahmedabad – and the rest will be taken over soon.

It must also ensure that the existing staff at these airports don’t get a raw deal to avoid any legal challenges to the bidding. A transparent process should make all the stakeholders happy and lead to better services for customers. More important, it would lead to a frictionless process, less opposition and minimise waste of time.

The whole effort should be to put the consumer first while bringing in private players. World-class service, however, doesn’t mean making services unaffordable.