GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. : 1353
(To be answered on the 9th February 2023)
CRITERIA FOR AIRPORTS
1353. SHRI GUMAN SINGH DAMOR
Will the Minister of CIVIL AVIATION
be pleased to state:-
(a) the criteria laid down for the construction of the national and international
airports;
(b) the number of new national and international airports constructed since
2019 till date;
(c) the details of the cost incurred thereon, airport-wise;
(d) the number of new airports proposed to be constructed and the number of
old airports proposed to be expanded in Madhya Pradesh;
(e) whether a uniform airfare including the charges for reserving a seat is
likely to be ensured in all the airlines as against the existing system of separate
airfare and reservation charges for every airline; and
(f) the facilities being provided to the Hon’ble Members of Parliament at the
airports and during the air journey?
ANSWER
Minister of State in the Ministry of CIVIL AVIATION
(GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD))
(a) to (c): Government of India (GoI) has formulated a Greenfield Airports
(GFA) Policy, 2008 which provides detailed guidelines, procedures and steps
related to construction of Greenfield airports across the country. Under the
GFA Policy, the project proponent- an airport developer or the respective
State Government willing to establish a Greenfield airport is required to send
a proposal to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) in the prescribed format
for 2-stage approval process i.e., 'Site Clearance' followed by 'In-Principle'
approval.
Since 2019, 6 Greenfield airports namely, Kalaburagi (project cost Rs. 175.57
crore), Orvakal (Kurnool) (project cost Rs. 187 crore), Sindhudurg (project
cost Rs. 520 crore), Itanagar (project cost Rs. 646 crore) , Kushinagar
(project cost Rs. 448 crore) and Mopa (project cost Rs.2870 crore) have been
operationalised, out of which Kushinagar and Mopa airports are
International airports.
(d): Under GFA Policy 2008, in the state of Madhya Pradesh, MoCA has
accorded 'in-principle' approval for setting up of a greenfield airport at
Dabra (Gwalior). Further, MoCA has granted the first stage clearance i.e.
site clearance for construction of a new greenfield airport at Singrauli in the
State. Airports Authority of India has also undertaken expansion of its
existing airports namely Gwalior, Rewa & Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.
(e): After deregulation of airline sector, the airfare is market driven and is
neither established nor regulated by the Government. Air ticket prices
generally vary depending upon the market forces. Airline pricing runs in
multiple levels {buckets or Reservation Booking Designator (RBD)} which are
in line with the practice being followed globally. Due to dynamic fare pricing,
the tickets bought in advance are much cheaper than those purchased near
the date of travel.
The airlines are free to fix reasonable tariffs under the provisions of sub-rule
(1) of Rule 135 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 having regard to all relevant
factors, including cost of operation, characteristics of services, reasonable
profit and the generally prevailing tariff.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has a Tariff Monitoring Unit
that monitors airfares on certain routes on monthly basis to ensure that the
airlines do not charge airfares outside a range declared by them. The airlines
are compliant to the Sub Rule (2) of Rule 135 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 as
long as fare charged by them is in line with fare displayed on their website.
(f): Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued an Avsec Circular
No. 09/2021 dated 02.12.2021 regarding Protocol/ Courtesy/ Facilitation to
Hon'ble Members of Parliament at Civil Aerodromes/ Civil Enclaves in India.
Vide the said Circular, airlines are mandated to nominate a protocol officer at
the aerodromes to facilitate VIPs during their travel. The circular also
delineates role of Airline Operators, Airport Operators, Aviation Security
Group and BCAS for providing facilitation to Hon'ble Members of
Parliament to ease their travel by air.
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