T-1 roof collapse: High safety standards expected at Indian airports, says aviation expert

State of airports: The country's aviation sector , especially air travellers have expressed hope that with the quality growth and development in the civil aviation sector, it also needs to be ensured that high standards of safety and world-class service quality for the passengers is maintained. This was shared by aviation expert Dhairyasheel Vandekar in an exclusive interview with Republic Business. 

As per Vandekar, while the aviation industry in India is thriving, all the airports, especially those in metro cities and even the Tier-2 and Tier-3 city airports, continue to be longing for a better airport infrastructure. “Unfortunately the increasing number of flyers at even airports in metropolitan cities is a matter of concern as airports are crumbling to this pressure,” added the aviation expert. 

The Airport Council International's ratings for most of the terminal infrastructure of airports in India raises many questions. Most airports, especially those based in smaller cities have seen ranking low for terminal infrastructure.   The Airport Service Quality (ASQ) index seeks a facelift of airports, especially underlines the need for decongestion in waiting areas, entry and exit points of airports, said Vandekar.   

With over 770 commercial aircrafts available with the Indian carriers, airports are turning out to be too fragile to cater to this huge growing pan India demand for flights. “Many important cities are handicapped for want of better airport infrastructure. Despite being based in major commercial business cities in the country, these airports are lagging behind in terms of their terminal buildings,” aviation expert Vandekar told Republic Business. 

As per Vandekar, several of the Airports Authority of India ( AAI) operated airports need to see a runway and terminal expansion. 

Read more: Airport roof collapse: High standards of safety expected at Indian airports, say experts