New Delhi: As the airport operators in India suffered catastrophically from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in terms of its traffic base, revenues and cash balance, the private airport operators body on Wednesday sought urgent relief from the government stating that such measures will directly alleviate the financial burden for airports.
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The Association of Private Airport Operators (APAO) on Wednesday said that as the cash flow situation is precarious, airports have been requesting the government amidst an extremely challenging environment to provide some relief measures to the airport operators which will directly alleviate the financial burden for airports. APAO represents airport operators that work on the public-private partnership model. Its member includes Hyderabad, Goa, Bangalore, Mumbai, Cochin and New Delhi.
"Relief measures are required not only to ensure sustaining operations at airports but also needed to save jobs and allow economic recovery of the airport sector," the APAO said in a statement. According to the airport apex body, the aeronautical revenues have reduced by 75-80 per cent while the non-aeronautical revenues have dropped by 85-90 per cent. The private airport operators body said due to Covid-19, airports had to incur additional operating expenses as well as additional operational Capex due to redesigning of infrastructure and SOPs for containment of Covid-19 and processing of passengers safely and conveniently.
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As per the rating agency ICRA, the airports in India are expected to witness a decline in operating income by 61 per cent to Rs 8,400 crore while reporting an operating loss of around Rs 1,700 crore (-20 per cent margin) and a net loss of Rs 5,400 crore (-64 per cent margin) in FY 2021. The overall cash flow for the sector is estimated at around Rs 3,500 crore in FY2021, impacted by a 66 per cent year-on-year slip in passenger traffic amid Covid-19 induced travel restrictions.
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