Self-Handling Issue Back With Aviation Ministry

The home ministry has shifted the ground handling issue back to the civil aviation ministry. It has asked the civil aviation ministry to approach the Cabinet Committee on Security again on the issue of allowing self-handling rights to Jet Airways and Air Sahara.

Earlier this month, the ministry of home affairs had turned down a proposal to allow ground handling rights to private domestic carriers, acceding to a Cabinet Committee on Security decision. But within a week the ministry decided to review its own decision.

The current volte face, according to government sources, is because the home ministry will like broad-based consultations on the issue, though it is in the domain of the civil aviation ministry.

 

Government sources said it had not been decided as to when the ministry would refer the issue to the Cabinet Committee on Security.

Industry sources said without a clear guideline, any decision on ground handling could be challenged legally. Experts said since security was the premise on which the ground handling regulations were being changed, it would be arbitrary to discriminate between domestic and international airlines.

The government had taken a decision in March to restrict ground handling to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Indian Airlines (IA) and Air-India (A-I), keeping in mind security concerns. Self-handling, both for domestic and international airlines, had been disallowed.

After this decision, the civil aviation ministry had approached the ministry of home affairs asking for a waiver for the two private domestic airlines.

Jet and Air Sahara had lobbied hard for self-handling to be allowed in the domestic sector since the apprehensions that the two airlines had were that the cost of operations would escalate and there would be no guarantee of quality of services.

Moreover the two airlines together employ close to 7,500 ground handling staff who could lose their jobs if neither airlines chose to enter into a joint venture with any of the government companies.

The deadline of July 1 for the implementation of the new dispensation has already been postponed by the ministry thanks to the delay on a decision on these key issues.