The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Centre to respond to a plea of Delhi International Airport Ltd, which runs the Indira Gandhi International Airport, over the permission given to the Airport Authority of India to start commercial flight operations from Hindon airport in Ghaziabad.

Justice Sachin Datta issued notice on the two petitions filed by Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) and granted two weeks to the Centre and the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to submit their responses. The court posted the case for further hearing on April 28.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, opposed DIAL’s plea saying that over a hundred flights were scheduled to take off every week from the Hindon airport, for which tickets were sold in advance. The Solicitor General also commented that monopolisation was not permitted.

On the other hand, appearing for DIAL, senior advocate Maninder Singh said that the decision to commence flight operation from an airport within an aerial distance of 150 kilometre of IGI airport was in violation of the policy and the “state support agreement” between it and the authorities.

Mr Singh argued that there was an obligation on the authorities to ensure no other airport was allowed to operate near IGI, unless the airport reached its saturation, as it would make it unviable.

DIAL’s plea said the Centre took the decision in October 2023 to start commercial flights from Hindon “unilaterally and in undue haste” without even giving an opportunity of hearing.

Its plea said a defence aerodrome, such as Hindon, could not be considered an airport for civilian use. It added that the Centre failed to record any reason for necessitating use of the military airfield to operate commercial flights.

The petitioner said at present, the IGI airport was “far from reaching its saturation” and was further expanding to operate at a capacity of 109 million passengers per annum.

The decision, it added, failed to consider that a new airport was being developed at Jewar, Noida which was within 150 kilometer of the IGIA.

“(The decision) fails to consider that allowing Hindon Airforce Station to be used for scheduled commercial operations to cater to the same catchment area even before IGIA and the airport at Jewar reach their saturation capacity, would seriously impact the viability of IGIA,” it said.

It would not only be detrimental to the existing airport, i.e., IGIA but also render the upcoming airport at Jewar, Noida and Hindon Airforce Station (if permitted to be developed into a new airport providing scheduled air transport services) unviable as it would result in three weak airports, with all competing and eating into the revenues of each other, the plea added.

The petition said as per the state support agreement between the authorities and DIAL, the latter had the “right of first refusal” with respect to any second airport within the 150 kilometer radius of the IGI airport.

A memorandum of understanding between the parties only permitted the use of Hindon Airforce Station for the limited purpose for operating regional connectivity scheme flights as an interim, stopgap arrangement while the upgradation at IGI airport was underway, it said.

DIAL also challenged a response given by the AAI on March 10 to its representation to reconsider and withdraw the decision to convert Hindon Airforce Station.

(with agencies inputs)