Petition against privatisation of Thiruvananthapuram airport dismissed

A Kerala High Court bench has dismissed the writ petitions filed against the privatisation of the Thiruvananthapuram international airport, stating that the pleas are premature and non-maintainable in the high court. The petitions were filed by the state government, the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation – a competitor in the bid – the Airports Authority Employees Union, and others. On March 6, 2019, the Kerala government had filed a petition challenging the decision of AAI to grant the rights of operation, management and development of the airport to the selected bidder, Adani Enterprise Limited, for a period of 50 years. The state government argued that Adani has no experience in maintaining and operating airports and that AAI’s move is not in public interest. It also violates the AAI Act as well as the proprietary rights of the state owning 635 acres of the land on which the Thiruvananthapuram airport is built. However, the court dismissed the claims stating that the bid document only required the bidders to have experience in infrastructure projects and not specifically airports. With this, the decks are clear for Adani to take over the airport.