This is done without even putting the logistics together. The most recent examples are the inauguration of the Mopa Airport and the Zuari Bridge in Goa. While Zurai Bridge is still incomplete but operational, Mopa Airport has been inaugurated even though there was no planning to put the taxi facilities in place. Even the mobile network played truant, much to the discomfort of the passengers who wanted to download apps to book cars for reaching them to their respective destinations after landing. There was chaos and passengers suffered the brunt of it amid the traditional Goan musical welcome.
New airports need to meet certain specifications for safety purposes regarding their management systems, operational procedures, physical characteristics, assessment and treatment of obstacles, visual aids, rescue, fire-fighting services and logistics. This is basically for the safety and the comfort of the passengers. Clearly the travel logistics was not in place as the issues with taxi drivers has not been solved yet.
While new airports are expected to support India’s growing aviation market, the civil aviation ministry has a much larger vision. One of them is to possibly develop an aviation hub in India, with the government planning to create an ecosystem to support such a development in the future.
While Indian airports often feature in the list of busiest and well-maintained ones, they are nowhere near some of their global counterparts when it comes to offering fast and reliable connections to international passengers.
Keeping up with the steady civil aviation growth trend in India, the country is expected to add about 80 new airports within the next five years to meet increasing passenger demand and ever-growing aviation sector. The civil aviation ministry has been keen on airport development in the country and upgrading the existing infrastructure to support the country’s needs. And the new airports in the pipeline are part of that vision. However, it is the responsibility of the state government to ensure that the logistics support like taxi facilities and internet connections are proper near the airport. For Goa, it is absolutely necessary as it a favourite tourist destination.
In the recent past, the number of airports in the country has increased from 74 to 142. This includes the operation of the Mopa Airport this week. This number is expected to shoot up to around 220 in the next five years with all the new airports that have been planned. The aviation ministry has given ‘in-principle’ approval to set up 21 greenfield airports across the country. Some of these include Navi Mumbai, Shirdi, and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra; Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Hassan, and Shivamogga in Karnataka; Dabra in Madhya Pradesh; Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar) in Uttar Pradesh; Dholera, and Hirasar (Rajkot) in Gujarat.
Nine of these – Durgapur, Shirdi, Sindhudurg, Pakyong, Kannur, Kalaburagi, Orvakal, Kushinagar and Mopa in Goa – have already been operationalised.
Many of these airports, helipads, and water aerodromes are targeted for development during FY 2022-23 under the regional Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN scheme. All will surely generate jobs for the locals but a logistics plan needs to in place before they are ‘hastily’ inaugurated under political pressure.
This phenomenon is seen world over. In March last year, the opening of Felipe Ángeles International Airport at Mexico, fulfilled a major campaign promise by López Obrador, who cancelled construction on an airport begun during the administration of his predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto, in the dry lakebed of Texcoco, northeast of the city. It was simple politics being played over a mega project. Experts cited several insufficiencies that do not bode well for the new airport’s ability to meet this goal.
Linking mega projects with political party achievements and showcasing their work for the people is acceptable only if the arrangements are proper and the plan is in place. If not, the passengers who face the ultimate brunt will not carry happy memories of their travel.
