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India to transform airports into global hubs with Unified Policy

2023-11-22

India is in the process of developing a national policy aimed at transforming its airports into major international hubs, providing seamless single-point international connectivity to the South Asian region. This policy, pending approval from the cabinet, focuses on streamlining laws to alleviate security and immigration bottlenecks at airports, facilitating the allocation of international flying rights, and constructing essential infrastructure. The goal is to elevate airports like Delhi into prominent transit hubs, rivaling global counterparts such as Dubai and Singapore's Changi Airport, according to insiders involved in the policy formulation.

The concept of hubs involves consolidating passenger demand from the entire area and offering a plethora of direct flights to major cities worldwide.

One of the driving factors behind this initiative is to curb revenue loss. In the fiscal year 2020, a significant 69% of Indian passengers traveling to Europe and North America chose hubs like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha, opting for foreign airlines. This substantial revenue leakage poses a challenge for airlines and airports, hindering the growth of the Indian aviation ecosystem. Government officials emphasised the need for a unified policy to address this issue. By doing so, both Air India and IndiGo can tap into the potential of international traffic, driving the government's determination to formulate this policy.

The complexity arises from the fact that various aspects, such as security regulations and immigration policies, fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, while international flying rights are overseen by the Ministry of External Affairs. Additionally, the construction of essential infrastructure will be coordinated through the National Infrastructure Pipeline. Therefore, a cohesive and unified framework becomes imperative to harmonise the efforts of multiple ministries and establish consistent regulations.