DIAL moves HC against Centre’s decision to allow commercial flights from Hindon Airforce Station

In its plea, DIAL said a greenfield airport is already being developed at Jewar, which is within 150 km of IGIA, and allowing Hindon Airforce Station to be used for scheduled commercial operations even before those two airports reach their saturation capacity would impact the viability of IGIA and result in under-utilisation of all the three airports

DIAL stated in its plea that despite an enormous investment for expansion of IGI Airport and exponential increase in the capacity of the airport, the Centre made the decision unilaterally. Express file photo

The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has filed a plea in the Delhi High Court against the Centre’s decision to allow the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to commence scheduled commercial flight operations at the Indian Airforce Station situated in Hindon, Ghaziabad.

On Wednesday, a single-judge bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad sought the stand of Centre and AAI and listed the matter for hearing in March.

DIAL is a joint venture of the GMR-led consortium and AAI and manages the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). It has claimed that the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s October 2023 decision is arbitrary, unfair, unilateral and commercially unsustainable. It has also sought quashing of a communication issued by AAI inviting various airline operators to increase flight operations and file their respective flight schedules for availing slots at the Hindon Airforce Station.

In its plea, DIAL has said that the decision and communication essentially amounts to the establishment of a greenfield airport at the Hindon Airforce Station. It said this decision is inconsistent with the Centre’s own policies such as the Policy on Airport Infrastructure, 1997, which mandates that a greenfield airport will normally not be allowed within an aerial distance of 150 km of an existing airport.

It states that the decision fails to consider that there is already a greenfield airport being developed at Jewar which is within 150 km from IGIA. It further states that allowing Hindon Airforce Station to be used for scheduled commercial operations to cater to the same catchment area even before IGIA and the airport at Jewar reach their saturation capacity would seriously impact the viability of IGIA.

The plea also said the decision was taken without following the due process of law in terms of the Airport Infrastructure Policy and the Greenfield Airport Policy, and said setting up of another greenfield airport ought to have been through a competitive bidding process.

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