Hindon Airport: Delhi High Court will hear this matter and the court has sought answers from the Central Government and the Aviation Authority of India. Know what the whole matter is after all…
Hindon Airport: A case of conflict of interest has come to light between Delhi’s International Airport and Ghaziabad’s Hindon Airport. Delhi International Airport Limited-DIAL has approached the Delhi High Court against the decision to start commercial flights from Ghaziabad’s Hindon Airport. Last year, the central government had given permission to the Aviation Authority of India (AAI) to start commercial flights from the Indian Air Force station in Hindon, Ghaziabad. Now Justice Subramaniam Prasad has asked the stand of the Center and AAI on the petition filed by DIAL against it.
What is the whole matter
The Civil Aviation Ministry of the Central Government had given permission to the Airports Authority of India or Aviation Authority of India (AAI) to start scheduled commercial flights at Hindon Air Force Station in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Due to this, Delhi International Airport Limited is worried. It has filed a petition in the High Court against this decision, arguing that a new airport is already being built in Jewar, UP, which is within 150 kilometers of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. At the same time, Hindon Air Force Station is also being allowed to start commercial operations even before these two airports reach full capacity. Due to this, the impact will be seen on IGI Airport and the utility of not only it but all the three airports (Delhi, Hindon, Jewar) will be reduced. Delhi Airport said in its argument that the Centre’s decision of October 31, 2023 is arbitrary, wrong and not commercially viable.
What legal arguments have been made in the petition
- The petition said that the decision to set up a greenfield airport at Hindon Air Force Station violates established policies including the 1997 policy, the Greenfield Airport Policy and the National Civil Aviation Policy. Under this, new airports within 150 kilometers of existing airports have been banned.
- The decision regarding the infrastructure policy and the new airport policy has been taken without following due process of law. Another new airport was supposed to be built through a competitive bidding process.
- Additionally, it raises concerns about conflict of interest, as AAI, a 26 per cent shareholder in DIAL, is involved in the decision to operate flights from Hindon Air Force Station.
- In the petition, a demand has been made to cancel the disputed decision, proposal and communication related to Hindon Project.
- DIAL said in its petition that DIAL has invested a lot for the expansion of IGI Airport. Due to this, the capacity of the airport has increased rapidly. Despite this, the Center has taken a unilateral decision without giving a chance to be heard, which is outside the scope of law.
When will the case be heard
Delhi High Court will hear this case next in March.
What is DIAL?
DIAL is a joint venture between the GMR-led group and the Aviation Authority of India. It operates Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). GMR-led consortium DIAL, along with AAI, has exclusive rights and responsibilities for the operation, maintenance, development and management of this airport.
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