The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) approached the Delhi High Court challenging the decision of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation in October last year to allow the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to commence commercial flight operations at the Hindon Airforce Station situated in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad.
Today, Justice Subramonium Prasad issued notice on the plea and sought response of the Union Government and AAI in the matter.
The DIAL is a joint venture of the GMR led consortium and AAI which undertakes functions concerning operations and maintenance of the Indira Gandhi International Airport. It has also challenged a communication issued by AAI inviting various airline operators to increase flight operations and file their respective flight schedule for availing slots at the Hindon Airforce Station.
The petition states that the Centre’s decision is arbitrary, unfair and unsustainable as it does not satisfy the tests in the 1997 Policy along with the Greenfield Airport Policy and the National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016, for setting up a new greenfield airports within 150 kms of an existing airport.
The plea underlined that the Impugned Decision, Impugned Proposal and Impugned Communication also fails to consider that a greenfield airport is already being developed at Jewar with ultimate passenger capacity of over 100 mppa within 150 km of the IGIA. Hence, the aggregate passenger capacity of about 250 mppa is being created in the NCR, which is projected to be sufficient till 2050.
It further noted that allowing Hindon Airforce Station to be used for scheduled commercial operations to cater to the same catchment area, even before IGI Airport and the airport at Jewar reach their saturation capacity, would seriously impact the viability of IGI Airport.
It added that it would not only be detrimental to the existing airport, Indira Gandhi International Airport but also render the upcoming airport at Jewar and Hindon Airforce Station (if permitted to be developed into a greenfield airport) unviable as it would result in three weak airports, with all competing and eating into the revenues of each other. The court scheduled the next hearing on the matter on March 07.