Stay on ground-handling order till HC verdict

The Delhi high court on Thursday said ground-handling at six major airports will continue to be handled by the various airlines and that a government circular implementing a new regime has been stayed until it delivers a verdict.
The government had said in its circular that the duties would be handed over to companies that had won contracts for ground handling at the six facilities—Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore—starting 1 January.
The court concluded hearings into the dispute between the ministry of civil aviation and private airlines on Thursday.
The court also ordered that the government will now perform 13 security-related functions at these airports, while the private carriers will continue to perform the remaining operations.
Private airlines have thus far handled the behind-the-scenes logistics for their own passengers at most airports in the country. This includes everything that goes on at airports once passengers get past the check-in counter, such as parking aircraft, transporting luggage and passengers, refuelling and catering.
Jet Airways (India) Ltd, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, SpiceJet, Indigo and GoAir, which have 80% of India’s air passenger market, filed the petition on 26 November, led by their lobby group, the Federation of Indian Airlines.
The petition claims the new policy violates the airlines’ right of self-handling and would lead to 3,000 job losses.
24/12/10 Nikhil Kanekal & Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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Categories: Airports Dec 2010