Coming down on the operators of Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) for barring an airline from handling its own cargo at the airport, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has instructed the airport to refrain from any such moves in the future. This comes in the wake of a recent stand-off between BIAL and budget airline IndiGo, with the former refusing to let the latter bring its cargo handling equipment into the airport.

IndiGo, which brought up the matter repeatedly at a recent meeting with civil aviation ministry officials, has got an assurance from the ministry that BIAL would not be allowed to restrain any airline on the matter, sources in the ministry said.

Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) had stopped IndiGo from handling cargo, saying no domestic airline with a market share below 25 per cent would be allowed to do its own ground-handling.

This would have disqualified all carriers, including market leader Jet Airways which commands 21 per cent share as of April, from undertaking their own groundhandling. Following the dispute, IndiGo had lodged a protest with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which in turn shot off a letter to BIAL on the matter.

However, BIAL refused to take any action, resulting in the flare-up between the two parties. Beseeched by IndiGo on the matter and worried that BIAL might be setting a precedent for other airports, the ministry stepped in and diffused the situation.

Sources in the civil aviation ministry say the incident may prompt a rethink on the new ground handling policy, which envisages appointment of three dedicated parties to handle cargo operations at airports.

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