Guest column: How IT is changing airports

AIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW: There are 16 airports offering international services.

ibnlive.com is on mobile now. Read news, watch videos
be a Citizen Journalist. Log on to m.ibnlive.com NOW!

Related Stories

• Jeers! Ramadoss wants liquor ads at airports removed

• New Bangalore airport may miss opening deadline

• Hijack alert, security at Mumbai airport increased

Top Headlines

Top Videos

Most Popular

• Gujarat dry status an ideological hangover? 

• India dry, Pawar says well-stocked for 13 months | Drought diary 

• Manmohan, Gilani fix up meeting without a date 

• India puts it in writing: Pak planned 26/11 

• Burger King apologises to Hindus for offensive ad 

• SC takes up plea against gay sex, issues notice 

• Suspected Dawood aide acquitted in fake currency case 

• Another 'lover' arrested at Sania Mirza's house 

• Mumbai, Pune and Delhi face 30-40 pc water shortage 

• Politicos get into the ABC of Varun's Z-plus security 

• MP drought-hit 

• Sariska tigers siblings, incest dangerous: Experts 

• 2016 Games contenders go all out to woo voters 

• Watch: Zardari admits to nurturing terrorists 

• SC takes up plea against gay sex, issues notice 

• CJ: Delhi-based builders make off with money 

• Pune reels under 40 per cent water cuts 

• RTI against college lands DCE student in trouble 

• Sports officer attacked for fighting corruption 

• Watch: Ferreira talks about sports and Union Budget 

• Forbes India: 20 stocks you must own 

• Dry state Gujarat reels under hooch tragedy 

• Burger King apologises to Hindus for offensive ad 

• India puts it in writing: Pak planned 26/11 

• Army honours Mohanlal with Lieutenant Colonel post 

• Another 'lover' arrested at Sania Mirza's house 

• MP drought-hit 

• Sariska tigers siblings, incest dangerous: Experts 

• Mamata dismisses corporate structure for railways 

• Mysore: PFI activists clash with police, lathicharged 

Photogallery

Find us on Facebook | Join IBNLive community

Stay ahead with G-Talk Buddy | Click now!

(The author, Elyes M'Rad, is the Regional Vice President, Sales and Relationship Management, South Asia and India (SITA). The views expressed here are his own)

State of Indian airports

The peculiar situation in India is that air traffic is concentrated at a few key airports. There are 16 airports offering international services and another eight that connect domestic sectors.

These 24 airports together account for a whopping 94 per cent of traffic and the balance is spread over 36 smaller or regional airports.

Presently, India has only 80 fully functional airports equipped to handle scheduled commercial, charter and defense services.

There are another 368 landing strips that function as makeshift airports for limited purposes. As many as 156 belong to the defense or semi-defense sectors and various state governments, while 63 are owned by the private sector.

India's Civil Aviation Ministry has set a target of having 500 operational airports in the next 12 years, according to a report by Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA).

According to CAPA, this will include the ongoing redevelopment of currently unused airports or little used airports and development of greenfield and cargo airports.

Remarkable growth in Indian aviation sector coupled with 8per cent growth in GDP has opened a great opportunity for investment in the Indian aviation sector.

Even as only 3 people per 100 travels by air in India compared with China's 10 per 100, passenger traffic is booming. Domestic passenger traffic is expected to double to 60 million by 2010 and reach 200 million by 2020.

This growth is facilitated by lower cost of operations which invariably is transferred to the customer in terms of cheaper air tickets.