In a bid to settle the issue of Ground Handling Policy,Union civil aviation minister Ajit Singh has called a meeting of airline representatives on Thursday. The minister is likely to discuss the reasons behind their resistance to the ground handling policy and find a solution. The idea behind the meeting is to settle the issue amicably and an out-of-court settlement should be reached on the issue, said a senior civil aviation ministry official. The official said that the minister wants a cost-effective and the best solution on the issue without compromising on safety,which is of prime concern. There are concerns about increase in cost and other issues that the airlines have raised. Due to their resistance,the implementation has been delayed for so long and cannot continue like this, he added. The Ground Handling Policy,which was proposed in 2007,aims at limiting the number of ground handlers to three at six major airports in the country Delhi,Mumbai,Kolkata,Chennai,Bangalore and Hyderabad. Currently,all airlines have their own staff for ground handling at these airports. Ground-handling services include check-in,baggage handling,cargo handling,aircraft cleaning,loading and unloading of food & beverages on aircraft,providing electricity back-up to aircraft at airports,supplying water to the carrier,ferrying passengers to and from planes,and maintaining washrooms. Of the three ground handlers to be selected for these six airports,one will be Air Indias subsidiary or its joint venture company that is Air India-Singapore Airport Transport Services and the other will be the airport operator in alliance with a ground handling partner. The third handler will be chosen by a competitive bidding process. Airlines argue that after implementation of the policy they will not be able to give better services to passengers at the airports,which is one of their unique selling points. The airlines also are concerned about an increase in cost of ground handling for them after a separate company takes over. Opposing the implementation of the policy,the airlines had moved Delhi High Court,which ruled in favour of the government in March 2011,signifying that ground handling would come to be a separate business. The matter is now in the Supreme Court. Ground rules * The Ground Handling Policy,which was proposed in 2007,aims at limiting the number of ground handlers to three at six major airports in the country * One handler will be Air Indias subsidiary or its joint venture company,other will be the airport operator in alliance and the third will be chosen through competitive bidding * Airlines argue that after the implementation of the policy,their unique selling point to give better services to passengers at the airports will be lost
