More than 300 employees at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, which is operated by Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), have chosen to resign and transfer to other airports overseen by the Airport Authority of India.
The large-scale transfer comes three years after AAHL assumed control of the airport’s operations, following a controversial privatization process.
Currently, the airport, which features both domestic and international terminals in Kerala’s capital city, is entirely owned by AAHL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited.
Thiruvananthapuram airport gained significant attention due to a large-scale protest opposing its privatization initiated by the Kerala state government, various opposition parties, and unions representing airport employees.
The shift to private management has sparked considerable debate, with various stakeholders voicing apprehensions regarding its potential effects on airport operations and the quality of services provided to passengers.
According to the agreement, AAHL was designated to operate, manage, and develop the airport for a duration of 50 years, while employees of the AAI were offered the choice to either continue their employment at this airport or be transferred to other AAI-operated airports throughout the nation.
“In order to make the transition smoother, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and AAHL jointly ran the airport for the first three years after which AAHL has now taken the complete control of it. As far as the employee options were concerned, this period was over on 13th October,” Airport Authority Employees Union (AAEU) president K.P Suresh said.
Suresh stated that the employees were presented with the option to either join AAHL or to accept transfers to other airports managed by AAI.
“We all have decided to take the transfer. Since the takeover in 2019, AAHL has hired nearly 90% of the necessary staff and provided them with the required training. Now that the process is complete, the airport does not face any staff shortages,” said Suresh.
Employees who have resigned from Thiruvananthapuram Airport have been reassigned to multiple airports both within Kerala and beyond, including Coimbatore, Chennai, Kozhikode and Madurai.
The employees’ union had earlier opposed the privatization of airports, expressing worries regarding possible hikes in utility service charges and other related issues.
