Major airports in the country have been late to the party of global airports, unlike Atlanta, Chicago, Dubai or Singapore which are hubs connecting one end of the world to another. However, in a case of better late than never, the Indian airports are now taking steps to becoming global hubs.
The Indian Government’s decision to allow private sector participation in domestic airports and the opening of the integrated domestic and international terminal under the same roof at Terminal 3 (T-3) in Delhi in 2010 was the first step, and possibly a game changer. While in fiscal year 2010 the airport handled 1.6 million transfer passengers — about 6 per cent of all passengers who travelled through the airport — this figure touched 8.4 million transfer passengers or 20.5 per cent of all passengers handled in fiscal year 2015.
A hub airport is one where a passenger, say from Chennai, can fly to Singapore and within a short time connect to another flight to Auckland as the final destination. And for that to happen an integrated passenger terminal is important.
“With the commissioning of T-3, Delhi transitioned into a hub airport for international and domestic traffic,” an airport spokesman said. What also helped Delhi airport was that Air India moved its long haul operations into T-3. The arrival of the airline’s Dreamliner Boeing 787 aircraft, which were largely based out of Delhi, also boosted the terminal’s growth as a hub. Besides, in July 2014, Air India joined the Star Alliance which facilitated seamless connectivity between the national carrier and 26 other Alliance members. Not to be left behind, Mumbai airport too is making progress. “With better infrastructure availability, the transfer passengers have increased to more than 4 million passengers in 2014-15 from 1 million passengers in 2008-09,” a GVK spokesperson told BusinessLine.
The spokesman further added that with the integrated Terminal 2 becoming operational in Mumbai, the transit experience of passengers was greatly enhanced. T2 was inaugurated on January 14, 2014 and became operational on February 12, of the same year.
One of the main reasons why Indian airports make for good hubs is the vast size of the country. And this is something which Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports are keen to tap into.
To Read the News in Full 26/01/16 Aswini Phadnis/Business Line
The Indian Government’s decision to allow private sector participation in domestic airports and the opening of the integrated domestic and international terminal under the same roof at Terminal 3 (T-3) in Delhi in 2010 was the first step, and possibly a game changer. While in fiscal year 2010 the airport handled 1.6 million transfer passengers — about 6 per cent of all passengers who travelled through the airport — this figure touched 8.4 million transfer passengers or 20.5 per cent of all passengers handled in fiscal year 2015.
A hub airport is one where a passenger, say from Chennai, can fly to Singapore and within a short time connect to another flight to Auckland as the final destination. And for that to happen an integrated passenger terminal is important.
“With the commissioning of T-3, Delhi transitioned into a hub airport for international and domestic traffic,” an airport spokesman said. What also helped Delhi airport was that Air India moved its long haul operations into T-3. The arrival of the airline’s Dreamliner Boeing 787 aircraft, which were largely based out of Delhi, also boosted the terminal’s growth as a hub. Besides, in July 2014, Air India joined the Star Alliance which facilitated seamless connectivity between the national carrier and 26 other Alliance members. Not to be left behind, Mumbai airport too is making progress. “With better infrastructure availability, the transfer passengers have increased to more than 4 million passengers in 2014-15 from 1 million passengers in 2008-09,” a GVK spokesperson told BusinessLine.
The spokesman further added that with the integrated Terminal 2 becoming operational in Mumbai, the transit experience of passengers was greatly enhanced. T2 was inaugurated on January 14, 2014 and became operational on February 12, of the same year.
One of the main reasons why Indian airports make for good hubs is the vast size of the country. And this is something which Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports are keen to tap into.
To Read the News in Full 26/01/16 Aswini Phadnis/Business Line
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