NEW DELHI: Deficiency in service at major airports — like taking more than the allowed time for baggage retrieval on conveyor belt, for check-in or security check and dirty toilets — could soon mean the operator being penalised by a reduction in user development fees (UDF) that passengers pay to ensure they don’t face any of these issues. The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) has proposed a new system of “formulation of performance standards of major airports relating to quality, continuity and reliability of service and associated activities” which adopts a carrot and stick policy. The operators will be rewarded for exceeding the standards set for them and be penalised for not being upto the mark by a cut in UDF.
The authority has issued a consultation paper for the proposed changes. The reason: Passenger rights as a consumer of airline services has long been a hotly debated topic with compensation rules by the DGCA in place to protect the same. But airports have mostly gotten away so far thanks to a complicated system of different service standards for different major hubs compounded by the operators choosing which agency will decide whether they meet the same.
“Airport services are characterised by natural monopoly or limited competition, wherein users have limited options on service providers. In such an environment, the role of the regulator extends beyond tariff determination to ensuring that services are delivered efficiently, transparently, and to a standard that meets both operational and user expectations,” the AERA paper says.
“Accordingly, there exists a compelling need to establish a structured, uniform, enforceable framework of service quality standards across all major airports in India that can be embedded within tariff regulation through ongoing performance monitoring. Such standards are instrumental in safeguarding passenger interests, enhancing accountability, and promoting continuous improvement across airport operations,” it adds. These standards basically mean the maximum time a passenger should spend at any touchpoint like terminal entry, check-in, security check, immigration & for baggage retrieval; overall cleanliness and availability of basic facilties along with use of technology for seamless transfers like Digi Yatra and e-gates for immigration.
Therefore after doing a detailed review of existing service quality requirements, the regulator proposes to have a uniform set of performance standards for all major airports — which handle over 35 lakh airports in India. The authority will select a third party to do the audit whether these hubs, which include those in the metros, PPP ones, some AAI and even upcoming Navi Mumbai and Noida airports .
The new performance standards have been designed to be “future-ready” incorporating advancements in technology such as Digi-Yatra, immigration e-gates and self – baggage drops. The same were not available when the earlier performance standard guidelines were framed.
Also, AERA propose to categorise airports into two categories — those handling below and over 60 lakh passengers annually as “the applicability and relevance of service parameters vary significantly with airport scale and complexity. Smaller airports typically operate with limited infrastructure and simpler layouts, necessitating a differentiated approach to regulation and performance expectations.”
A person in the know said: “The aviation ecosystem is inter-linked. Ensuring checked-in baggage is on conveyor belt within allowed time is the airline’s responsibility. But a ground handling agency (GHA) does this job for them and the GHA has an agreement with the airport operator. Similarly, the wait time taken at check-in counter is the airline’s; security check in CISF’s and immigration is Bureau of Immigration’s responsibility, respectively. But airport operators have to ensure there are adequate counters available for these jobs. So everything is connected.”
AERA will hold a stakeholders’ consultation meeting next week and the last date for submitting comments on the proposal is Sept 24, 2025.
The authority has issued a consultation paper for the proposed changes. The reason: Passenger rights as a consumer of airline services has long been a hotly debated topic with compensation rules by the DGCA in place to protect the same. But airports have mostly gotten away so far thanks to a complicated system of different service standards for different major hubs compounded by the operators choosing which agency will decide whether they meet the same.
“Airport services are characterised by natural monopoly or limited competition, wherein users have limited options on service providers. In such an environment, the role of the regulator extends beyond tariff determination to ensuring that services are delivered efficiently, transparently, and to a standard that meets both operational and user expectations,” the AERA paper says.
“Accordingly, there exists a compelling need to establish a structured, uniform, enforceable framework of service quality standards across all major airports in India that can be embedded within tariff regulation through ongoing performance monitoring. Such standards are instrumental in safeguarding passenger interests, enhancing accountability, and promoting continuous improvement across airport operations,” it adds. These standards basically mean the maximum time a passenger should spend at any touchpoint like terminal entry, check-in, security check, immigration & for baggage retrieval; overall cleanliness and availability of basic facilties along with use of technology for seamless transfers like Digi Yatra and e-gates for immigration.
Therefore after doing a detailed review of existing service quality requirements, the regulator proposes to have a uniform set of performance standards for all major airports — which handle over 35 lakh airports in India. The authority will select a third party to do the audit whether these hubs, which include those in the metros, PPP ones, some AAI and even upcoming Navi Mumbai and Noida airports .
The new performance standards have been designed to be “future-ready” incorporating advancements in technology such as Digi-Yatra, immigration e-gates and self – baggage drops. The same were not available when the earlier performance standard guidelines were framed.
Also, AERA propose to categorise airports into two categories — those handling below and over 60 lakh passengers annually as “the applicability and relevance of service parameters vary significantly with airport scale and complexity. Smaller airports typically operate with limited infrastructure and simpler layouts, necessitating a differentiated approach to regulation and performance expectations.”
A person in the know said: “The aviation ecosystem is inter-linked. Ensuring checked-in baggage is on conveyor belt within allowed time is the airline’s responsibility. But a ground handling agency (GHA) does this job for them and the GHA has an agreement with the airport operator. Similarly, the wait time taken at check-in counter is the airline’s; security check in CISF’s and immigration is Bureau of Immigration’s responsibility, respectively. But airport operators have to ensure there are adequate counters available for these jobs. So everything is connected.”
AERA will hold a stakeholders’ consultation meeting next week and the last date for submitting comments on the proposal is Sept 24, 2025.
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