The Hindu Business Line : In Hyderabad, where do they go…old airport or new?

Hyderabad, March 7 Even as the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RJIA) is getting ready for its opening on March 16 in Hyderabad, a simple-yet-practical question lingers in the minds of many passengers. From which airport does one catch a flight on March 16 — the existing one or the new one?

No official info

Make a call to an airline and, probably, you may get the answer, “You will have to go to the old terminal.” Tell them about new-found knowledge about the new airport, they will say, “We are not aware of it, officially.”

Seems surprising, but many travel agents in the city are at a loss too, as airlines still don’t indicate the change in GDS (Global Distribution System), the common pool from which all agents book and sell tickets.

The AAI (Airports Authority of India) has also not made any official statement on the closure of the existing airport

“We have been telling the ticket buyers that they will have to board the flights from the new airport from March 16, as we know it. There is no official communication to us either from AAI or from the airport promoter,” Mr Vijay Mohan Raj, Chairman of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI-Andhra Pradesh), told Business Line.

The airlines must indicate the change of airport in the GDS. All travel agents would have access to this system to book and issue tickets for their customers.

Travel agents point out that the airlines have not done this yet.

When contacted, Mr Kirankumar Grandhi, Managing Director of GMR Hyderabad International Airport that is developing the RJIA, said the company had been holding meetings with airlines, talking about the schedules, shifting of operations and the nitty-gritty involved.

Notwithstanding this, a lot of travel agents allege that they are left incommunicado as far as shifting of airport is concerned.

A senior executive of Atluri Travels, a leading travel agent in the twin cities, echoed the views of Mr Vijay Mohan Raj.

“We were not informed either by the airlines or by the airport operator. We are just selling the tickets without referring to the place of boarding the flight,” the executive said.

In the absence of official statements, several people have started calling travel agents. They have far too many questions.

The questions range from whether the existing airport at Begumpet would really be closed down, to how much time it would take to go to the new airport.

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