Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at Mumbai may see a change in airport service provider, as the Bombay high court recently rejected plea of the Airport Service Provider’s Association challenging the new qualifying criteria imposed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) alleging that the new criteria were designed to keep the Indian airport service providers out of the bidding process and pave the way for foreign players in the field.
The petitioner body contended that three conditions imposed by the AAI for appointment of airport service provider’s appointment were unjust and unreasonable and had “no nexus with the object sought to be achieved” and therefore liable to be struck down.
It further argued that the conditions — furnishing performance guarantee of Rs100 crore, technical experience of handling minimum 10 million passengers and the turnover of Rs75 crore from ground handling business — were nothing but instruments to keep the local service providers out of reckoning.
