Ministry moots model to make India a hub for air traffic

The model brings efficiency in the transportation sector by greatly simplifying a network of routes. The model is used by major airlines including American,United,US Airways,Delta,Continental,and Northwest. As of now,the government is evaluating if the Greenfield airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore,and the Delhi and Mumbai airports — which are currently undergoing renovation — can support such a model. Along with the option of domestic hubs,the ministry is also keen to explore if India can be promoted as a regional hub,connecting Western nations with Eastern and far-Eastern nations.

However,the industry has its own set of apprehensions,which include infrastructure-related woes. “Infrastructure at airports is a huge problem. Initially,Delhi and Mumbai can be looked at to serve as a hub. But,the present infrastructure at Mumbai airport can hardly serve the huge traffic numbers that such a model is likely to bring,” said a private airline official.

Experts argued that the hub-and-spoke policy model may not work in India unless changes are affected in current policies. “Route dispersal guidelines mandate an airline to fly at least 10 per cent of capacity deployed on peak routes to non-peak routes. This,however,will not serve the cause of connectivity and has been,in part,responsible for airlines’ losses. Also,the regional airline policy should be reoriented as it has not been able to meet its objective of providing connectivity.” said Kapil Kaul,CEO,Centre of Asia Pacific Aviation.