As much as 70 percent work for the Navi Mumbai airport has been completed and phase 1 of the facility would be launched by December 2024, which would be used by 20 million passengers, said Arun Bansal, the CEO of Adani Airports at the CAPA India Aviation Summit on Wednesday.
Bansal said the Mumbai and Navi Mumbai airports together would have five terminals. He said the Lucknow airport would have a new integrated terminal after October 2 and that the company was building a new terminal at Guwahati airport with a 20-year target.
Bansal said India is the best-located country to become the largest international travel hub. And while talking about the challenges, he said, India does not have an aviation institute and talent is a big issue in the country. "We are working with the government to develop talent building for aviation," Bansal said.
Also Read: CAPA India Aviation Summit: Indian aviation leaders announce expansion plans and optimism for future
As India looks at transitioning to green energy, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is also a part of the plan. In January, aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also spoke about using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in aircraft and the challenges regarding the same.
"We have already experimented with 25 percent SAF in one engine on our routes and that has been successful. The issue with SAF is not necessarily the capability of the carriageway to use it, the issue is the production and transportation of SAF — that is what we need to get our arms around. We are looking at increasing the production of SAF and how it can be transported so it can be used as a blended fuel in civil aviation and we working closely with the petroleum ministry on the same," Scindia had said.
Sharing similar sentiments, Bansal on Wednesday said no airline can afford SAF as the cost is too high.
The Adani Airports CEO said the company's mantra is to be better today than it was yesterday. "Some processes can be changed at our end, some need regulatory intervention," he said.
The company wants to reduce airport operating costs by 30-50 percent at Adani Airports and Bansal said the reduction will be passed to customers.
He said the company's vision is the be the "most admirable airport operator in India". "We want every customer to feel they had a fantastic experience and no anxiety," he said.
First Published: Mar 22, 2023 1:20 PM IST
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