India’s major private airlines are lobbying against a new policy that restricts them performing ground handling at all the metropolitan airports - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The services include passenger and baggage handling activities at the airport terminals and traffic service including the passenger check-in; aircraft handling, loading and unloading, flight operations and surface transport.
The airlines have approached the Delhi High Court to ask the new policy is quashed. The policy also restricts the foreign airlines and the private independent ground handing service providers to undertake self ground handling and ground handling at joint user Defence airfields. The new policy is to be implemented by January 2011.