Now, no-frills airports

After no-frills airlines, it is now the turn of no-frills airports. The civil aviation ministry is planning to allow small airports to come up in the vicinity of international airports that will offer fewer facilities and charge lower than their bigger brethren.

The idea is to lower flying costs and encourage the growth of inexpensive airlines. One of the impediments in India to cheaper operations is airport charges, which are 40 per cent higher than in Southeast Asia and 50 per cent higher than the Middle East.

These airports will not offer cargo or cold storage facilities. And aircraft will not be allowed to park in them for long.

They will work as small spoke airports catering to charter flights and inexpensive airlines without threatening the larger hub in the vicinity.

"For example an airport in Ghaziabad will hardly wean away traffic from the Indira Gandhi International Airport," says an aviation industry official.

The Naresh Chandra committee set up by the civil aviation ministry is building on the idea of no-frills airports.

The airports could be managed by states in conjunction with private players, which could either be airlines or private investors, officials said.

Sites that could be considered include Ghaziabad, Thane and Meerut, and even airports in Visakhapatnam and Pune.

Such airports could be modelled on London's Stansted airport, which has the largest traffic of cheap carriers in the world. It charges just 30-50 per cent of what Heathrow charges.

According to data released by the British airports' authority, the 11 per cent increase in passenger traffic witnessed during January 2003 was attributed to cheap airports.

"Small airports, which charge less, are a must for cheap operations. In India the charges are way too high. Abroad, airports have competitive charges to woo no-frills carriers," says Captain GR Gopinath, managing director, Air Deccan, the first no-frills airline in India.