AP govt to form Airport Economic Regulatory Authority

Hyderabad, May 19 (UNI) The Andhra Pradesh government was considering creation of a new Airport Economic Regulatory Authority to ensure a level playing field for all airport developers in the country, Joint Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation K N Srivastav said today.

''In the next five years over 300 new aircraft would be added to India's overall fleet, thereby putting pressure on airport infrastructure and lending urgency to the requirement of about 5,000 additional pilots, apart from other airport staff,'' he said at the concluding session on 'The Challenge of Connectivity' at the 'Look South 2007' Conference here.

This growth would make it necessary for the government to make operational the 300 airstrips that were currently available but were not being used, apart from the need to take airport development to tier II and tier III cities of India, Mr Srivastav said.

He said with international airports coming up in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Puducherry and the exiting one being upgraded and to be modernised in Tamil Nadu, the aviation scene was hotting up in South India.

General Manager of Singapore Airlines Mr Chai Woo Foo stated that at present there was no real open skies in India even though there has been liberalisation of some routes.

Mr Chai said the South Indian region needs to connect to major world destinations to enhance flight frequency from major cities across of the globe. This sector should be opened for international players to augment their services to India, he said.

Liberal open skies would lead to greater connectivity, encourage tourism, generate employment and boost trade and commerce, Mr Chai said.

UNI