It has been said and said again several times over, but here is something that bears repeating: India has the worst airports in the world. Our escalators open up unexpectedly and swallow kids; our toilets are horribly bad; our conveyor belts are too small to hold all the bags from a single plane (leave alone the 3 that arrive at one time); sleeping is impossible and even if you escape the airport in one piece, you still haven’t escaped the airport mafia.
And it is only going to get worse – the rapid growth in the Indian economy and the mushrooming of budget carriers in the country means that in a couple of decades from now, Delhi and Mumbai will be as busy as Chicago or Atlanta are today. Imagine. The solution to the problem is quite simple of course: A lot more money, which the Government does not have. As early as 1997, the Government of India released an “airport modernization policy” that said among other things that:
Looking at the quantum of investment required the answer to all the problems lies in the infusion of private — including foreign — investment in this sector. [Link]
Meaning, we don’t have the money. And we think the way to fix these airports is by handing them off to someone else. After a lot of hemming and hawing, the policy finally looked set to take off this year with the Government inviting competitive bids to privatize the management of the two biggest airports in the country: Delhi and Mumbai.
Then the bidding process ran into trouble, and so they appointed a technical committee (but of course) that evaluated the bidding process and okayed it, and then another committee was appointed to make sure the technical committee knew what it was doing. And finally, a decision was made: The bidding process produced a couple of winners. Nice.
Uh uh. Not so fast. This decision was just a cue for the Communists to enter the fray, pulling in some unlikely capitalist allies.
Look at the major world-class airports in Asia. Look at the airports at Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and elsewhere. All of them are most modern, world-class airports built by either the government or government-owned public sector companies. The world over, all the good, great airports are managed by governments fully or partially.
The Lefties want the whole privatization thing scrapped and the Government of India to raise the money required through bonds. They believe the current setup is just fine. And in an effort to prove how professional they are, the party bosses called all their friends who work at airports and asked them to work from home starting today. ( These guys know what they are doing, there was a dress rehearsal last year. ) And the obedient airport workers have stayed at home today, causing lots of stranded travelers all over the country. But air travelers are rich, so why should we care? Plus, I am sure they will realize all this is in public interest.
So, how professional is the current management? Here, read this interview with the Director of the Mumbai Airport. (through India Uncut)
You feel your customers tend to over-react? [about delays]
Oh yes! And they do it out of ignorance.
Surveys on the Internet place Mumbai airport in the worst spot, second only to Papua New Guinea, and the only reason we beat them is they have gangland shootouts inside the airport. There are complaints of unclean toilets, mosquitoes, staffers demanding bribes…
Here’s what happens: Due to the night curfew in Europe and the Far East, bunching of flights happens out here. 70% of the movement happens in a six-hour period. This means hundreds of people use the urinal at the same time. So how can we keep them clean all the time? We can’t ask people to shift while they use the toilet, can we?
Why not build more toilets?
We don’t have the infrastructure for that.
You think the Indian passenger is too demanding?
It’s got to do with the profile of our people. You know, it’s more difficult to maintain the international terminal. We have a very large number of labour that travels to the Middle East. A large number of them have never seen a wet toilet in their lives! There are people who spit inside our airports!
However, I think you are only pointing out the negatives, you are being cynical. If things were so bad, there won’t be a 40 per cent growth in air traffic. Things are not as hopeless as you are trying to make them out to be.
Read the whole thing, it is very exciting.
come on karthik!
even you have to admit that the toilets, conveyor belts, and lack of sleeping space are part of the charm that makes it an Indian airport!
and the whole airport smells!
Hi All, Last time I was in Bombay airport, I went to sleep on one of the lounge chairs and woke up next to Taliban! Sorry but the dozens of men shaking out their long towels and lying in the chairs next to me were travelling to Haj and looked like, well…they were nice to me but didn’t speak English so I had no idea what they were saying. I didn’t know what the protocol was in that situation, if I, a single woman, should get up and leave the conclave full of conservative men or just sit there like there aren’t hundred’s of men changing clothes (discreetly) near to me. I put a jacket over my head and pretended to sleep 🙂
Tonight I fly to India. We’ll land in Anna Intern—–al Airport in Chennai. Last time, I complained so much because of the missing lights in the sign, the musty smell and ugly interior, but we were out of there in TEN minutes. A mass of people waiting for relatives just stare at you while you push your wobbly cart outside. It’s unnerving!
Oh god the Director sounds like an idiot. This resonates with the general apathetic reaction towards travelers especially the labor class that goes to the middle east which people are quick to forget pumps a lot of money into India’s economy.
They are simply uneducated people not animals. I used to travel quite a bit to the middle east. If given direction and the opportunity to behave this is a group of people that will do it. As an American I might give lip and be arrogant but not this class. I think it’s pathetic that the Director took a shot at them.
Secondly 40% growth in air traffic is not because of the damn airport. For petes sake what kind of line of argument is this?
I read these kind of reports and wonder if India will get ahead in terms of “customer/human service”. We run call centers that offer customer service to outsiders, what about teaching our people to treat each other better internally?
went to sleep on one of the lounge chairs and woke up next to Taliban! Sorry but the dozens of men shaking out their long towels and lying in the chairs next to me were travelling to Haj and looked like, well…they were nice to me but didn’t speak English so I had no idea what they were saying
OMG! Totally awesome! Did you take pictures? I mean like seeing conservative men with long towels and whatever being such a novelty and all.
Dude
I think you’re being wayyy to pessimistic. Have you been to the Bombay domestic terminal lately? It’s gotten quite good, I was pleasantly surprised. I think this was privatized. I don’t think these Leftist things are gonna go too far. The mood in India is unrelentingly capitalist right now, so it’s gonna happen. Unless Reliance tries to scuttle things.
Frankly, with the Bombay airport, I’d be 10 times gladder if only they brightened up the lighting. That would make the airport look a ton classier 🙂 I can deal with Bombay airport, the one that I hate the most is CDG airport in Paris.
ItÂ’s got to do with the profile of our people. You know, itÂ’s more difficult to maintain the international terminal. We have a very large number of labour that travels to the Middle East. A large number of them have never seen a wet toilet in their lives! There are people who spit inside our airports!
Maybe they should build a seperate terminal for these lowlives. In fact why not just herd them into a big cargo ship?
Here’s a solution – rather than try to upgrade the existing airports – allow a private company to buy land, and build a new airport from the ground-up. Give the private company bonus incentives, whereby they get extra money for finishing ahead of schedule. Let them hire and fire as they see fit. Then, when the new airports open, condemn the old ones as a safety hazard and tear them down.
that’s a pretty stupid troll… that being said – i think there is a separate terminal for hadj departures in delhi – probably reflects the seasonal influx
spent 16 hrs i spent at igi last month… very interesting – highlight was seeing a dreadlocked yogi – sadhu dude – sprawled on his matting in front of the waiting lounge – smoking a bong … didnt look like he was going anywhere … just chilling out in the middle of everything.
Another threat from the ultra-left:
I am shocked ‘low lives’ now I apprehend the reason India has so much of class and caste in them. first we ape the goras and now we shun everything we are made of. may be one of you goras who look like desi but without a desh can explain to me what were your fathers or mother s in india and in where ever you are ….Immigrants or polished white collars or just another low live trying to make a fourtune for his kids to never have to. We are what we are and we are not going. Our toilets could be much more clearner if we had money to pay people to clean it for you that should 7.5 $ per hour. But unfournately we spend ost of it trying to show of that we are doing great so that most of the India empowered feels equal of rest of the world while Bharat still comes in as silent labour to clean the toilets inbetween his search for just a average life. I can’t believe what you guys talk about sometimes.
All I have to say is this: give me DEL or CCU any day over EWR. ::shudder::
sarchasm (sär’k z’ m). 1. (n.) The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the recipient who doesn’t get it.
gotta agree with technophobic geek… CDG in paris is god awful..hate the airport and everyone who works there.. don’t ask.. it just sucks… ugh..
but the best airport in india from what i recall was rajkot.. their security measures were laughable..and ehem.. in ahemdabad.. birds greeting you at the outside luggage arrival was the funniest thing.. my brother and i could not stop laughing…
i have to say though that the international airport in mumbai sucks compared to the national one… it’s a difference between night and day… but even though they all have their ehem.. quirks.. its the charm of the country..
my funniest airport experience… kuwait.. 1994… where a group of folks going on the hajj were washing their clothes in the toilets at the airport.. it was surreal..
The ‘lowlives’ are treated like shit. I once saw some labor folk, coming back from the middle east, who had some of their belonging in some type of homemade cloth sack. The customs guys simply took a knife to it and cut it open, guy’s stuff was sprawled all over the place, and it really wasn’t much.
I also got hassled into paying 10 dollars at the bombay airport this past december. They’ve gotten better, but my flight showed up at shift change time, so guys took what they could before moving off.
I liked the domestic terminal at bombay. It’s already congested and small though. Sure, Singapore has built Changi into a wonder, but then again, Singapore has done a remarkable job with infrastructure all over the place. India has not.
I agree with KXB – let a private company build and operate a brand new airport, let the private company build the tollway to get there, and all the government needs to do is customs/immigration and charge landing/gate fees. Leave the little stuff to guys who have incentive to do it well.
I’ve said this a million times. First impressions do count, and airports are the gateways today. If kings of the past built ornate/sturdy gates to welcome people to their cities, or protect them, why not invest in something that CAN make a shit load of money (directly through the airport, and indirectly through increased business traffic). India’s location gives it a strategic location, straddling the middle east on one side and the far east on the other.
I understand at some levels how the overall public has not caught up to ‘professional standards’ of the west, but there are creative ways of enforcing cleanliness and order. I love airports, airplanes, and anything related to them. I heart airports like Changi.
GujuDude, very true. The deals negotiated with the companies that might take over the airports at Mumbai and Delhi involve nearly 30 – 40% of the money going back to the Government… I wish the Lefties would look beyond their initial knee jerk impulse and decide on the merits of the deal.
Exactly. The lefties are worried about job security and cuts by private business. What they don’t get is the fact that these airports will be expanding at an incredible rate, which means MORE jobs for people. The pie is growing and everyone will get a bite out of it, not only tenured govt. folk. Heathrow and Changi have a ton of duty free shopping. Who will staff those jobs? It may not be a Government paycheck, but for most, they just want a paycheck. Who will staff the expanding gates, infrastructure services, food facilities, etc. at these airports? Indian people.
Overall I do believe the public at large is getting the picture. It simply has to jump through all the bureaucratic hurdles, but people want better, because they know it’s possible.
sarchasm (sär’k z’ m). 1. (n.) The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the recipient who doesn’t get it.
Thanks!
OMG! Totally awesome! Did you take pictures?
Hey, my family in india is ultra conservative, and knowing them, I was embarrassed that the men in the airport might not want me hanging around them. And I don’t see a lot of ‘ultra’ muslim men in my circles. They all wore white clothes and had turbans and looked exotic. You would have the same reaction if you woke up next to a hundred brahmin maami’s(aunties)…OMG! I’ll be sure to take pics next time 🙂
KXB, GujuDude, I agree that just letting private players set up from scracth would get better results. The trouble with that approach is that no private player is going to be allowed to buy that much land- the government has to buy it for him through eminent domain. So not gonna happen unless the concerned government decides that they want a new airport. I’ve blogged about it here.
(New airports are planned for Navi Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad, though. Maybe Greater Noida in the north.)
An aiport with toilets? When I landed in Delhi I found four holes in the ground with doors. I would have appreciated a toilet!
Same thing in Morocco– half squat, half Western.
Agreed. That is a stumbling block. However the highway project does offer hope that the Govt can consolidate land for public use. Indian air traffic hasn’t hit critical mass yet, so only time will tell whenever it does, how the govt reacts.
I don’t know much about this story, but reading this post set off alarm bells in my head (alarm bells which, granted, are probably lacking in many an Indian airport security area). A cursory glance doesn’t yield much by way of the other side of the story either.
BUT
No one is saying the status quo is satisfactory. Not even those dusty ol’ progress-hating Luddite Leftists. The Left Parties Note on Modernisation of Airports contends the following:
When the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance took over in 2004, they stuck with the NDA’s plan to privatise without considering AAI’s plan to modernise the Delhi and Mumbai airports. This is what the Left Parties are up in arms about.
AAI apparently currently has a plan, within its budget, to modernise these two airports. I have no idea what this plan is. If anyone else can find it somewhere out there, please let me know. The plans of the two private companies aren’t transparent either, but they are more expensive.
If I was working for AAI and there were this many mysteries behind the whole story, I’d be pretty damn pissed too. What’s the guarantee that AAI workers will keep their jobs? How likely is it that they’ll be able to unionize under a private scheme?
I don’t think anyone should have full faith in either the state or the private sector to solve problems without full accountability. Transparency from all sides is required, and that doesn’t seem to be there, at least not accessibly.
Before we rush to judgement one way or another, please, let’s assemble more of the story than the tatters currently before us.
Under the arrangement, jobs would be cut only after 3 years. 3 years gives private companies enough time to evalute how well the employees are doing. The way I see it, AAI guys would be needed around simply because they know the system. With the projected growth, I don’t think they’ll lose their jobs unless they’re incompetant.
GujuDude, can you provide a source for that, please?
Thanks
The BBC has an article.
And the 2.5 feet flexible pvc pipe in each toilet.
hmmm… the spam protecting word is quite apt on this thread
anyhoo.. a while back i was watching a movie in a out of the way town in tamil nadu.. just killing time… had to step out to take a whiz… walked on behind the concession stand… cross-roads and the signs were in tamil – no symbols – i flipped a coin and went one way… found the toilets… were like squat toilets … but filled in with concrete … and a nickel-sized drain at the end… i had a brain fart that lasted a minute…. was this a joke, where am i… came to, rush of thought… leaped back and ran out past a bevy of girls
on a similar note… my … (ex-?)SO was travellign solo through china backwaters… the women’s toilet was communal … no partitions… everyone squatting and emptying into a large trough which was emptied by a woman who came in and dumped a large pail of water on one end…
Yeah…a plan all of eight pages long. Read it in the Indian Express (one of the three good newspapers in India with The Statesman and The Pioneer) a while ago. The commies draw their support from the unionised middle-class a bulk of whom are employed in the government – state and central. These employees help the commies in many ways – controlling the flow of patronage and influence, cooking up the electoral rolls, handing out liquor distribution contracts (a major scandal in Kerala), shielding thugs (the commie local committees is the underworld and vice versa in West Bengal). And that is the reason why hte commies are trying their best to sabotage the the airport modernisation plan. They don’t want to lose out on the opportunity to make money.
Good for you that you could put the dhaavak training to good use (like saving your hide), any lesser mortal would have been caught rather easily. 🙂
Karthik, I never said welcome, but welcome! This post is great, but I’m still suffering from post-traumatic-airport syndrome, so I’m not going to think about it too much. But yes, man, the airports—gah.
I’ve been working with the AAI for nearly two years regarding the privatisation of major airports as well as trying to assist them to meet some desperate, long overdue safety standards. But like most organisations in India, the bureaucracy and corruption and layers and layers of management that try and make it as hard as possible with respect to safety upgrades, have had us all fed up (by “us” I mean major civil aviation organisations and authorities worldwide). India won’t accept help even if it means forgoing that 1% of equity that tips the 50-50 balance for the duration of the project. Countries that have won bids to work with the AAI have found it impossible to carry out even menial tasks like installing runway lighting! It scares me to think that they’ve mentioned privatisation of airports(at long last)but wont have many bidders for tenders issued. Most aviation authorties worldwide, particularly one’s like ours with a focus on providing services to improve safety standards within airports are to be honest, frightened to work for an authority that doesnt seem to care for its floods of traffic, not to mention how risky it is to work on location at the airports there often having to compromise your own safety!
not all is bad – the private airlines are changing perceptions of customer service – things will happen – needed to get my flight re-booked via air canada – the head honcho at the airline operations (i assume he was head because there was a group photo with him sitting next to robert milton in their office) was down in the trenches – pitching in to answer unusual requests like mine, ticketing, baggaging etc. – i felt if anything, he should delegate a little more – found it refreshing to see the sense of accountability – of course his team reflected his sense of urgency, dedication to customer service.
i cant wait till they at least put in private airline lounges at the int’l airports – instead of sitting in a large hall where they played this GODAWFUL, MIND NUMBING , NUT SHRIVELING desi muzak… I’d have enjoyed chilling inside a business class lounge.
.. there was a group photo with him sitting next to robert milton…
Milton? Paradise Found? I thought Air Canada was what you flew after ingesting some B.C. bud.
dont mock my super elite status yaar, i’ve spent so many hours on molded plastic my butt has lost its crackling crease.. to illuminate
…. robert milton and john milton
i LIKE the crowds… b/c inevitably someone in that crowd has been waiting for you! and i love searching around uncertainly until you find that smiling face that’s just there for you.
Let me put it this way:
On scale from 1 to 10
1= horrible airport 2 = World class airport (Amsterdam, Gatwik, Chicago – the new one)
a) Indian airports pre-2002-2003 = 2 b) Botswana airports = 6-7 (Indy Jones type landing airports. Safari airports are whopping 10s) c) South Africa airports = 9-10 (but just oustide the gates, it is 2-3, I was for once scared @ Johannesburg airport gate late at night) d) Indian airports post-2002/2003 = 5-6* / **
** In 2001, I was with my former MS advisor from Cornell on a work related trip. It was funny @ luggage claim, he requested me to do the talking in English because neither they understood his English, nor he understood theirs. He is an American. I was a Indian-English/ American-English translator.
See, there is an extreme improvement in relative terms in India.
Crowd part, I always enjoy.
Correction: 10 = World class airport (Amsterdam, Gatwik, Chicago – the new one)
1-10 airport scoring system
So on with KT’s remarks here is my own input:
1: worst airport/s: charles de gaulle, paris, LAX (los angeles)–what utter garbage 3: O’Hare (what crap is that?), JFK, Miami 8: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Heathrow, Gatwick 10 BEST: Vancouver.. amazing, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong
LAX is a croc of shit. You’d think that with Hollywood a stones throw away, they’d know how to dress up their airport atleast, but Nooooooo. On the international terminal, which resembles a rather large bus depot, they take you out to static jetways out in the middle of the tarmac.
I’m actually impressed with the medium/smaller sized airports in the US, some of them are rather charming. I like John Wayne in Santa Ana, nice little airport.
“I’m actually impressed with the medium/smaller sized airports in the US, some of them are rather charming.”
I once flew in to a real beautiful airport in New Hampshire. It must be the size of a huge house. Amazing place.
Guys, still noting beats to landing on a strip with giraffes in Okavango Delta, Botswana. If there is an elephant/ elephants around, the Cesna plane does not land. They are going to get pissed and you do not want that.
Which part of Chicago airport is new?
Talking of small airports, try the North West Arkansas Regional Airport, near Bentonville, AR (aka Walmart Airport). Exceptionally good service, nice people, no waiting times and looks great!
Oslo airport rocks. Pale wood, glass, steel. Scandinavians, I ask you…
Does anyone know how the new Cochin airport was built? It struck me as the best type of Indian airport: resolutely and weirdly unlike any kind of airport anywhere else in the world, yet comfortable, clean and relaxed.
Eurodesi, if you meant to enquire about project details, then check out the Cochin Airport website. But you’re definitely right about it being a one-of-a-kind airport. Got to love an airport that looks like a Travancore king’s palace.
The Kochi airport is the first privately funded and owned airport in India. So it might well be a sign of things to come. Pretty amazing since it in Kerala, that bastion of Indian organized labor and was funded by overseas Mallu investors who were sick of being mistreated everytime they visited back home. I heard that they were still trying to get more landing rights (this being resisted by the Mumbai airport lobby) for several carriers although the airport strip can take 747s.
iu wich wrld do u live? all the airports r getting modernised and see the sites of gmr n grv to confirm. u r a pesimistic indian