Kolkata: Blame it on the Wednesday's high-voltage Indo-Pak encounter, that India beat Pakistan in Mohali for the first time to reach the World Cup finals for the third time, if you are unable to fly out of the city on Friday.
Top officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the scheduled airlines felt the match was more important to attend than the meeting to resolve the impass' over who would provide ground handling facilities at major airports.
With just a day to go for the AAI and the airlines to agree on modalities for a shift to single agency operation from multiple agencies that exist now, flight operations face the possibility of being disrupted as there will be no personnel on the ground for baggage handling, cargo, aircraft cleaning, catering and other vital operations.
Speaking to TOI, the airlines' top brass expressed dismay over the postponement of a crucial meeting convened by the AAI.
"The agency operating airports believes it is more important to watch the match than resolve a pressing issue that threatens to derail air travel," said a senior official of a private carrier following the cancellation of the meeting in Delhi.
In Kolkata though, AAI officials met with airlines staff but failed to break the deadlock.
The AAI is determined to shut out JP Construction, JSM Construction, Star International, Ideal Engineering, Global, Chowdhury Enterprise and MK Enterprise that operate here along with Air India.
But airlines are in no mood to comply, alleging that Bhadra International, the agency shortlisted for the job, has neither manpower, nor equipment to provide services at such short notice.
31/03/11 Times of India
Top officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the scheduled airlines felt the match was more important to attend than the meeting to resolve the impass' over who would provide ground handling facilities at major airports.
With just a day to go for the AAI and the airlines to agree on modalities for a shift to single agency operation from multiple agencies that exist now, flight operations face the possibility of being disrupted as there will be no personnel on the ground for baggage handling, cargo, aircraft cleaning, catering and other vital operations.
Speaking to TOI, the airlines' top brass expressed dismay over the postponement of a crucial meeting convened by the AAI.
"The agency operating airports believes it is more important to watch the match than resolve a pressing issue that threatens to derail air travel," said a senior official of a private carrier following the cancellation of the meeting in Delhi.
In Kolkata though, AAI officials met with airlines staff but failed to break the deadlock.
The AAI is determined to shut out JP Construction, JSM Construction, Star International, Ideal Engineering, Global, Chowdhury Enterprise and MK Enterprise that operate here along with Air India.
But airlines are in no mood to comply, alleging that Bhadra International, the agency shortlisted for the job, has neither manpower, nor equipment to provide services at such short notice.
31/03/11 Times of India
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