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AAI asks Delhi airport operator DIAL for status report on services
The AAI communication comes against the backdrop of congestion at the Delhi Airport’s T3 that forced Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to step in
NEW Delhi: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has asked the Delhi airport operator, Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL) for a status report on the services they provide. The communication was sent under the agreement signed between AAI and DIAL in 2006 when the airport was privatised, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
The Operations Management and Development Agreement (OMDA) empowers AAI to intervene when the private operator isn’t complying with service standards.
“AAI has asked DIAL to give status of services as per standards as specified in the OMDA and mitigation measures initiated if any to remove the deficiency in services,” AAI spokesperson said. “..the reply is awaited from DIAL. Subsequent action if required will be taken as per the provisions of the agreement, the spokesperson added.
“DIAL has been submitting quarterly reports to AAI measuring the compliance of the objective service quality requirements as per OMDA and the last report for the period July 2022 to September 2022 was submitted on October 12 this year,” the spokesperson added
DIAL is a joint venture, formed as a consortium between GMR Group (54%), Airports Authority of India (26%), and Fraport AG & Eraman Malaysia (10% each).
The AAI communication comes against the backdrop of congestion at the Delhi Airport’s T3 that forced Union civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to step in. On Saturday, the civil aviation ministry ordered a slew of measures at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Scindia, who had nudged the ministry to intervene, followed up with an inspection on Monday and pointed out gaps in implementation.
On Wednesday, Scindia said it was unfair that passengers had to arrive at airports three-to-four hours before their flight departs, and the ministry was working with all stakeholders to ease the situation. He underlined that the situation has started to improve and expressed confidence that the crisis would be resolved to a large extent over the next week.
