Only 22 out of 148 operational airports making profit: Parliamentary Panel

Only 22 airports out of 148 airports in the country are making profits and despite being on a growth path for the last two decades, the Civil Aviation sector in India has not been able to reap full benefits and demographic dividends, according to a Parliamentary panel.

The panel headed by Rajya Sabha MP Sujit Kumar has noted that the number of operational airports in the country is very low for a country of India's size.

"Though the civil aviation sector in India has been on a growth path for the last two decades, it has not been able to reap the full benefits of the growth in the Indian economy and demographic dividends, which is evident from the fact that in all, India has 148 operational airports which are very low for a country of our size. To make matters worse, out of 148 airports, only 22 are profit-making," the panel said in its report tabled in Rajya Sabha on Friday.

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"There is thus a huge upside in constructing airports. India is a country of approximately 1.4 billion people and though passenger and cargo traffic have witnessed significant growth during the last two decades, there are significant challenges to be overcome.

"Despite India being the world’s fastest-growing aviation market, the country’s airport expansion is yet to gain the desired pace which is hindering India’s booming air travel demand and aviation growth," it added.

The panel report on "Petition Praying for Modernization of Airports by Airports Authority of India" also noted that despite the phenomenal growth in traffic, most Indian carriers are reeling under losses and in this context, cost-effective operations and sustainability are a must for airlines to operate in the long run.

Noting that civil aviation is a customer-centric industry and exists to serve the consumers and therefore consumer interest should be of paramount importance, the panel has recommended that more endeavours be made to enhance the passenger experience and operational excellence at AAI airports so that they could match the PPP airports and their service levels are at par with the international standards.

"The Committee welcomes that government's plans to boost airport infrastructure which is certain to bring a huge amount of economic upside. The panel however notes that the development of airport infrastructure projects is highly capital-intensive in nature and also has a long gestation period and they have suffered from long delays in the past on account of key approvals and land acquisition issues.

"The committee, therefore, recommends that the government should proactively obtain all pre-project clearances and complete the planned airports in a time-bound manner and obviate the possibility of cost escalation and time overruns," it added.