Future tense for airport ground handlers

Mumbai: Thousands of loaders, baggage handlers and ramp operators working with the 50-odd ground handling agencies at the Mumbai airport are not sure whether they would be able to report to work on the first day of the new year.
Reason: Their airport entry passes will expire at midnight and chances of getting them renewed by Thursday seemed slim.
Two years ago, the BCAS and DGCA had issued a circular outlining a new ground- handling policy. Under this, airport operators of six metro airports were to award contracts to three ground handling agencies (including foreign firms) and airlines were supposed to choose any of them for their ground-handling jobs. Currently, many airlines do their own ground handling and apart from that, there are multiple agencies, with Mumbai airport having about 50 ground-handlers.
The new policy was to come into effect from January 1, 2010, and so the airport entry passes issued to thousands of employees of the ground-handling agencies in Mumbai airport were to expire at midnight. The new policy, which means job losses for many, is being opposed tooth and nail by employees of Air India, ground handlers and staff of at least two dozen foreign airlines.
01/01/10 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jan 2010