IATA welcomes India’s airport capacity hike

“There is a total transformation of and a major ramp up of airport capacity in India, which is positive,” Amitabh Khosla, IATA Country Director India, Nepal & Bhutan, IATA, told a media briefing at the association’s AGM in Delhi on 1 June.

“It's an exciting market, on account of what's happening with airport infrastructure in India, which is expanding. At all the major gateway airports - Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore - there is major investment in additional capex taking place,” said Khosla.

“With passenger traffic growth and the order books for new aircraft that the airlines are placing, this was required,” he noted. This includes the second city airports of Navi Mumbai International and Noida International in the Delhi region, with both opening this year.

“There are also major new airports and terminals opening and new capacity being added in tier two and tier three cities. All of that is helpful, because that helps connect larger parts of India and to really grow the airport capacity available,” he explained.

The question of airport charging levels is well managed by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India, said Kholsa. “We are fortunate to have an economic regulator which has been proactive with regards to regulating major airports. It is a detailed process which includes multiple rounds of stakeholder consultation as well.

“They do a good job in terms of ensuring that what comes as the final tariff determined for the next five years of a control period is in line with the capex that the airport is putting in place.”

According to Kholsa: “We are also seeing the development of a stronger aviation ecosystem in India which focuses beyond the airlines and airports. We are seeing a focus on air cargo, leasing, and many other areas like MRO.

“The government's own focus on helping the industry address issues has been beneficial and it is helping put supportive policies in place,” he said.