Slowdown delays Hyd airport breakeven

The global slowdown has delayed the breakeven of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad, operated by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL).

The project, built at an estimated Rs 2,500 crore, was projected to break even by 2014. But now, it would be extended by four to five years, according to P Sripathy, chief executive officer of GHIAL.

Passenger figures that were projected to touch eight million by 2008 stood at only 6.4 million last year. “If there was no slowdown, we would have touched nine million passengers this year. We expect the growth to be flat this year too,” he said.

In all, the passenger growth is less than expected but better than last year. The airport would take some time to be in the same league of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore airports, he said, adding it would be too early to talk about revenues.

On a year-on-year basis, the airport, for October, saw an overall 17 per cent growth in traffic. It has a 12-million passenger capacity.

The company has approached the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority for revising the user development fee. The airport now collects a UDF of Rs 1,000 and Rs 375 from outbound international and domestic passengers respectively.

Revenues from non-aero operations is expected to be 40 per cent this year, he said.

Meanwhile, Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, launched flights to Hyderabad, its seventh destination in India. Etihad is the first airline to operate flights between Abu Dhabi and Hyderabad. It currently operates four flights a week and this will be increased to daily beginning next year, its vice-president (sales) Adrian Parkes said at a press conference.