Amrtitsar Airport makeover Can't Curb Losses

Amritsar: The glossy look of the Sri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport and its impressive infrastructure notwithstanding, the airport is suffering huge losses on account of discontinuation of flights by various airline companies in recent years.
The airport is suffering annual losses pegged at around Rs 20 crore with the number of international passengers drastically going down.
Since the withdrawal of Singapore Airlines and suspension of the Jet Airways Amritsar-London flight in 2008, many airline companies, including Trans Aero, Mahan Airways, Go Air and Air India (AmritsarSharjah), have stopped, suspended or diverted their operations from the international airport.
Apart from bringing losses to the airport, the suspension of flights is causing inconvenience to many passengers who now have to go all the way to Delhi to board flights.
With not half as many flights as they had expected, the airport authorities are losing out on landing charges and passenger user fee.
The government had spent crores on giving the airport a new look and adding more facilities.
Concerned over the losses, the airport authorities are making personal efforts to rope in airline firms. Talking to HT, airport director Suneel Dutt said, “Certainly, the suspension of operations by some airline companies is a cause for concern.
But we have been very committed to improving the facilities at the airport. Today we have a runway that can handle all kinds of aircraft and a new terminal building with all modern facilities. Much more is in the pipeline.“
19/06/11 Global Sikh News

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Categories: Airports Jun 2011