Nationwide airport strike a ‘big victory’, says CITU

State CITU president Shyamal Chakraborty told The Indian Express that negotiations between the AAEU and civil aviation minister Praful Patel had ended in favour of the striking employees.

“We have been assured that the existing airports in Bangalore and Hyderabad will not be shut down once the greenfield airports become functional. Both old and new airports would function simultaneously,” he said.

“We’ve also heard that Bangalore’s greenfield airport won’t be commissioned into service in the near future,” he added.

AAEU regional secretary Dipankar Ghosh was also upbeat following the meeting in New Delhi.

“We are proposing that the old and new airports should compete with each other. Let passengers use whichever they like. Also, the flight load could be divided between both the airports. For instance, international flights could be scheduled for the new airport, while domestic flights could use the old airport,” he said.

Ghosh added that AAEU is aware that the new airports would have to be used in the near future.

“The deal was inked during the NDA government’s tenure when Chandrababu Naidu was the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. The question now is how to use it without affecting the existing facility. Commercial activity has to continue at the existing airports,” he said.

Among the 21 airports across the country, which were hit by the strike, Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBIA) was the worst hit.

Nearly 2,000 AAI employees went on strike from Tuesday, changing the bustling airport’s international and domestic terminals into garbage dumps.

Striking employees resumed work on Friday, restoring normalcy.

AAI authorities said all basic amenities were on track again.