Four officials of the GMR Group, a leading airport developer and operator, who came to inspect the Thiruvananthapuram international airport as part of the bidding process to select a private player for the management, maintenance and future development of the airport, had to make a hasty retreat on Friday following a protest by the employees of the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The employees, under the banner of the Airports Authority Employees Union (AAEU), blocked the GMR officials at the airport director’s office when they arrived, seeking permission to inspect the airport. The AAI employees raised slogans and waved black flags at the GMR officials and objected to the issuance of passes to enter the terminal building for inspection.
Stance to continue
Following the protest, the GMR officials left the office of the airport director without carrying out the inspection. AAEU branch secretary S. Ajith Kumar said they would adopt the same stance towards others coming to inspect the terminal in the coming days. The AAEU has been organising dharna every afternoon in the airport since December 4, 2018, against the move to privatise the airport.
In Delhi, Hyderabad
The GMR Group owns and operates the Delhi and Hyderabad international airports. The group has been awarded concession to develop and operate Goa’s greenfield airport at Mopa.