Thiruvananthapuram: Protests intensify on airport privatisation

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: From February 20, unions claiming to represent some 10,000 employees of the AAI have threatened to go on an indefinite strike against leasing out the six airports,  The airports seeking capital infusion are Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Trivandrum and Mangalore.

Scores of people gathered in front of the Trivandrum International Airport on Wednesday with lamps protesting the move to bring in a private partner to save it.

Congress leader V.M. Sudheeran led the protest attended by the Airport Authority of India employees and their families. He said that the government should immediately convene an all-party meeting and go aggressive against what he termed as privatisation.

He said the airport was making a profit and it needed no private capital infusion.

“Last year the turnover of the Airport was Rs 169.32 crore, and the passenger flow increased manifold in recent years,” he claimed.

He believes the state's move to take part in the bid through a company it controls was foolish.

“Many governments including West Bengal and Tamil Nadu have strongly and successfully stood against privatisation of their airports. Our government should also take an aggressive stand, instead of supporting it,” he said.

He said that acquisition of 18 acres of land is underway for its expansion and the move on the eve of national elections wa "very suspicious, and illegal."
“They are eyeing our land and we shouldn’t let this happen at any cost,” he said.

The previous government led by the Congress initiated private participation in the country's major airports, including New Delhi, to improve infrastructure and efficiency.

In November, the present government listed Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Trivandrum and Mangalore for privatisation.

International airlines were of late shifting their services to corporate airports in Kannur and Kochi offering better services and passenger patronage.