Ahmedabad

Airport Authority Employees Union has declared one day strike of all staff members of Airport Authority of India(AAI) on 11 March. In this connection, the General Secretary of Airport Authority Employees Union Balraj Singh Ahlawat was in Ahmedabad on Thursday. Ahlawat discussed protest programmes with AAI employees in Ahmedabad. Later while speaking to media persons he said that on 11 March, all employees of AAI will gather outside the departure gate of airport with their family members. They will not allow operation of even a single flight across the nation.

When asked why AAI employees union is protesting the privatization of airports, Ahlawat said number of AAI employees will lose their job if airports are privatized. Moreover, most of the employees will come under probation. If government gives assurance of safety of jobs of existing AAI employees, then only the union will drop its agitation.

Ahlawat said Prime Minister Narendra Modi uses twitter and therefore AAI employees will post daily 1,000 tweets opposing privatization of airports.

He said government has sent 100s of crores in recent years for betterment of airport terminals, why they should be handed over to private parties now?

Author’s note:

Ahlwat and his union’s main concern is security of jobs of existing staff. The staff members fear they may be transferred or lose their jobs if the airport management is handled by private companies. However the staff members may get public sympathy only if they are doing their job fine. On my last visit to Ahmedabad’s Sardar Patel airport, I found dirty toilets in departure complex. Then if you use T-3 airport terminal in Delhi, you realize how inferior the Ahmedabad airport is! Those battery operated vehicles, those walkalator, those long chairs in which you can go asleep and if you pre-set the time, you can have vibrator alert to wake up to catch flight, that fully carpeted floor, those artifacts, those help counters, clean washrooms with best facilities and that overall experience that you find at T-3 in Delhi is not available at Ahmdabad airport.

Ahlawat during his Ahmedabad visit said, ‘Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Jaipur and Chennai airports are well developed and profit-making airports and there is not much to add in these airports in terms of infrastructure; why does the government want to pass on the baton to private companies?”

Mr. Ahlwat is mistaking here. At no point any infrastructure is ideal and complete! There’s always a next level. If you compare Ahmedabad airport with Delhi’s T-3 or new terminal of Mumbai, you immediately come to realize, lot of facilities, utilities missing at Ahmedabad airport.

Ahlwat pointed out that in all government airports, security is handled by CISF, boarding and other proceeding of passengers is the particular airline’s responsibility. Only airport infrastructure departments like fire, communication system, maintenance, air terminal management and housekeeping comes under the airport authority.

Ahlwat is right, but somehow the safety of government job, systemic process and promotions, lack of competition hamper the services particularly when it comes to housekeeping and air terminal management. That’s what the passengers by-and-large feel.

While AAI staff members are going to hold agitation, they are not likely to get people’s sympathy for the reason narrated above.

It should be mentioned that government proposes to privatize Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kolkata and Chennai airports. Staff strength approximately at Ahmedabad airport is 200, Jaipur 300, Kolkata 1500 and Chennai airport 1600.

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