Grounded airports

Govt plan for privatisation has flaws

The government is proceeding with its plan to expand the footprint of private airports across the country. This is good news, in spite of the fact that the pandemic has cut a swathe through profitability and sustainability in the aviation and tourism sectors. It has been reported, however, that some changes will be brought into the privatisation policy after the outcome of previous rounds was subject to considerable criticism, including by employees of the Airports Authority of India — the state-run enterprise with responsibility for airports. This criticism revolved around two poles. First, there was concern that the six airports