Airports face staff shortage

Bangalore: Bangalore and Hyderabad greenfield airports should be open for travel by early 2008. Work at the Delhi and Mumbai airports is gaining pace, but airport operators across the country are having a hard time finding people to run these airports.
A back of the envelope calculation shows that by 2010 airports in India will need close to 100,000 trained people to operate and service airports across the country, compared with AAI’s current employee strength of 20,000.
According to the Air Traffic Control website, there is a shortfall of around 1,000 ATC officers in India. A head-hunter claims to have spoken to 45 candidates in an attempt to find the right person to head the construction of the new runway and terminal building at the Delhi airport.
The new greenfield airport in Bangalore needs 300 people across levels, while Hyderabad airport needs to recruit 800 people before the launch in early 2008. “The challenge is not to find well-educated people, but well-educated people with experience in airport operation and airport marketing,” says Albert Brunner, CEO, Bangalore International Airport.
04/01/07 Supriya Kurane/Economic Times