Mangaluru:The tag 'Adani aiports' has been removed from hoardings and displays of the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) after months of protests by social activists. The name boards, which were there prior to the Adani group's takeover of operations at the airport in October 2020, have now been restored, said social activist Dilraj Alva. Alva had raised the issue to airport authorities.
"This airport is a state-run airport operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI)," said Alva. "The legal battle waged in this regard has now yielded result and the original name board has been restored from Friday. The changes have been made in MIA's official Facebook and Twitter accounts also," Alva said. Further, he said, "We don't have any issues with naming airport with Tulu Nadu (Tulu speaking region) Achievers' name.
The 'Adani airports' tag on the brandings and displays of the airport was objected legally. Social activists and the Airport Employees Union had filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court in February 2021, challenging the Union Government’s decision to hand over the Mangaluru airport to Adani Enterprises Limited, stating that the privatization of airports is illegal. The Karnataka High Court had reserved orders in this petition.