Poor infra may hit airlines’ take-off

Mumbai: The aviation sector’s infrastructure, or its lack thereof, may clip the wings of some non-scheduled airlines which are toying with the idea of opening up avenues of intra-state connectivity in Maharashtra.
Sources say modernisation and expansion of the Mumbai airport is moving at a snail’s pace primarily due to state’s failure in getting rid of slum encroachments. “A private operator had assured that the encroachments would be cleared. But this has not happened even years later mainly due to the government’s vote bank politics,” alleges a senior executive at the airport.
Aviation industry sources say a second airport in Navi Mumbai, aimed at easing the Mumbai airport’s traffic, has been held up due to negotiations over a “fair” market price for the required plots. The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), a leading think tank in the industry, claims this delay may hike the cost of land acquisition to $1 billion by 2018 — the expected deadline to make the airport operational.
07/08/12 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: airports Sep 2012, Indian Aviation- In General Sep 2012, New Sep 2012