Nagpur airport flies into licensing controversy

Mumbai: Nagpur’s Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport has landed itself bang in the middle of controversy by operating without the requisite licence.
A year since the airport was handed over for Re1 to Mihan India Private Limited (MIPL) — the joint venture company (JVC) between the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) — the company is running it without the mandatory licence from the Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA).
On Wednesday, the matter came up for hearing at Nagpur bench of Bombay high court, which has now asked the MIPL to clarify its position. Both MIPL authorities and AAI sources confirmed to DNA that MIPL had not yet applied for the DGCA licence that is given only after compliance with safety norms under civil aviation requirements.
The CEO of MIPL, VS Mulekar, a retired AAI official, admitted that MIPL is yet to apply for a licence, but said there are many other airports that are run without licence.
The previous licence to run the Nagpur aerodrome rests with AAI, but cannot be transferred to MIPL. This is the only case in India where an airport is run de facto by the state government through its company.
The Central Government Rules for licensing aerodromes are contained in Part XI of the Aircraft Rules 1937.
11/03/10 Jaideep Hardikar/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Airports Mar 2010