Opinion Waiting for take off
Last week the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) once again deferred full implementation of the ground handling policy at airports...
Last week the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) once again deferred full implementation of the ground handling policy at airports,backing off in the face of stiff opposition from various quarters,particularly airlines including international carriers. This paints an embarrassing situation for the apex decision-making authority of the country because it had approved the policy 27 months ago in February 2007 but has had to constantly relent despite serious security questions on the table. Now,we hear that the CCS has given six months to the Civil Aviation Ministry to carry out a review of all questions and come up with a comprehensive proposal before December 31.
It is both a political and bureaucratic failure that a consensus has not been achieved among all stakeholders,resulting in delaying a policy that the government believes has vital security ramifications. Matters got further complicated in the first week of June when the US State Department wrote a terse letter to the Civil Aviation Ministry opposing the policy which disallows foreign carriers from carrying out their own ground handling. Even though not all US airlines have their own ground handling staff here,the US government said the airlines would not want the option foreclosed and termed the move as violating the Indo-US Open Skies agreement. If new rules are implemented that preclude self-handling by US carriers,it is our expectation that the matter would be raised formally under the agreement, wrote the State Department on June 4,even threatening countermeasures.
The need for such a policy started with the proliferation of airlines during the short aviation boom in the early part of this decade. Indian aviation has been a target of terror,be it the Kanishka bombing or the Kandahar hijack. 9/11 and the bombing of the Colombo airport kept underlining the point to not take aviation security lightly.
So when the number of airlines in Indian airports specifically,Delhi,Mumbai,Hyderabad,Kolkata,Bangalore and Chennai grew rather fast,there was also a simultaneous increase in ground handling staff. Most big airlines have their own ground handling set-up and self-handle their flights. However,this also created a security nightmare as it became unmanageable to keep tabs on personnel with access to the terminal and more importantly,the air side which includes the tarmac,hangars,cargo area and the plane itself. In simple words,the security set-up felt there were just too many people with access to sensitive locations in an airport,posing a major risk. They put it down on paper and raised the red flag from where the first thoughts started on having a ground handling policy like in other parts of the world.
It was also felt that a policy would help maintain quality benchmarks,bringing uniformity to the kind of equipments being used at airports as well as training of personnel. Presently,each airline has its own equipment,differing in quality and performance which many feel does not give the airport a prepared look.
The home ministry,of course,wanted only one agency to handle all the ground handling that included terminal area,issuing boarding passes and even general facilitation. This rather impossible proposal had to be deliberated upon and what was drawn up basically said there will be three ground handling operators at the six busy airports Delhi,Mumbai,Chennai,Kolkata,Hyderabad and Bangalore. One would be a joint venture headed by the airport operator,then a J-V arranged by National Aviation Company of India Ltd and last would be a well reputed ground handling service provider chosen through open bidding by the airport operator. At all other airports,the government allowed domestic airlines self-handling of their planes,but foreign carriers were barred.
This way,the government thought it had introduced enough competition to avoid a monopolistic situation as well as made it manageable from the security point of view.
Clearly,that wasnt the case. The airlines objected,saying close to 30,000 jobs would be lost if they were to shut down their ground handling units,substantial investments on improving passenger service in the terminal would go waste and that common ground handling agencies were offering services at higher costs. NACIL had its own typical share of problems with unions objecting to the J-V being formed with Singapore Airport Terminal Services. Hyderabad and Bangalore airport operators felt that they did not need more than two ground handling operators while one of the two bidders bidding for Delhi and Mumbai pulled out due to internal problems,forcing a rebid. And in AAI controlled Kolkata and Chennai,the Authority has just initiated the bidding process.
There are ideas on the table to bridge this gap between policy and implementation,one of which is to allow airlines to continue to self handle in the terminal this could save several jobs while the ground handling agencies take over the air side or say the area after the security check. But here,the Home Ministry is said to be acting tough. Neither side is,therefore,willing to concede and the government has failed to force a meeting ground.
As a result,both the commercial and security aspects of ground handling continue to suffer. Not to mention the absence of equipment standardisation and lack of general uplift in ground handling quality like timely baggage and cargo delivery. Slackness on this front means inviting trouble because all big and small committees on aviation security have called for such a policy. While there is no fixed template across the world,ground handling is generally a specialised activity with high quality security equipment for baggage and cargo handling. Airports like Paris allow self- handling but the cost is so high that airlines prefer to hire certified ground handling operators.
A fairly strong case can be made out that the Indian policy in its current shape is restrictive and smarter innovations are needed. But either way one looks at it,India needs a sound ground handling policy soon to ensure the best equipment and staff that raises the bar on both performance and security. This is an absolute must given Indias heightened security environment and the fact that standards at Indian airports are generally below par in comparison to other world class airports.
pranab.samanta@expressindia.com
Share
