The Need for Cheap Airports for Cheap International Flights In India

There has been a longstanding demand from the low-cost carriers operating from India to

have cheap airports for their operation. It just does not go with their business model to

operate from the expensive international airports since it increases the prices of air tickets,

their main unique selling proposition to customers. With LCCs slowly becoming the market

leaders by garnering a big chunk of the market share, it becomes necessary to examine the

pros and cons of their demand for cheaper airports.

Whenever an airport is setup with the most basic of infrastructure capable of handling

international flights and ensuring complete security and security of passengers, there are

huge costs involved which are recovered over the projected life span of the airport. Setting

up cheap airports would, therefore, be advisable in those regions where the existing airports

are running to their full capacity and there is a need to develop an alternative airport close

by so that the pressure on existing airport can be removed. This alternative airport could be

the cheap airport from where cheap international flights by LCCs could be allowed.

Worldwide, alternative airports to the main airport have been developed for decongestion of

main airports and the same have, by default, resulted in becoming the operating bases for the

LCCs. People also prefer to do flight booking at these airports since they get cheap fares for

their flights.

Wherever LCCs operate domestic and international flights, these are required to maintain

equipment and personnel at the two different terminals of airports, namely domestic and

international ones. This also increases the costs of maintenance and management of flight

operations. For this reason, the budget carriers of India demand all their operations,

international or domestic, to be located at the less expensive airport, or, if there are two

terminals separated by considerable distance, then these be located at the less expensive

terminal.

By virtue of being close to the main airport but at a relatively less congested and cheaper

place some distance away, these alternative airports help in considerable reduction of the

cheap air tickets prices. By not having these airports in the country, LCCs are left in a

disadvantageous position since these have to pay higher airport operating charges at the main

airport and the same is then passed to customers in the form of dearer tickets. While it is said

that cheap air tickets are being offered, it is a fact that these can be reduced further if LCCs

operate from alternative airports which are less expensive.

So, there is a scope for further reduction of air tickets if the LCCs are given permission to

operate from alternative airports and, in the absence of these airports, from a least

expensive terminal.