RAJIV GANDHI-GMR HYDERABAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT:

RAJIV GANDHI

GMR HYDERABAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT:

One family, one mission

Hyderabad and Glasgow were recently the world’s fi in the area of safety

The city of Hyderbad in India may be more recognized as a pharma and IT hub to those in the west, but this may be about to change thanks to Hyderabad Airport. Until as recently as 2008, Hyderabad was without an international airport, despite a population of something over 6 million. 8 years later in 2016, the airport is alreadjlm.y becoming an invaluable tool in bringing Hyderabad to the world and showing all that it has to offer. Its CEO, Mr Sgk Kishore recently told us: “I can confidently say that Hyderabad has set a benchmark for airports that followed.”

The airport has experienced double-digit growth every year since its inuguration and in 2015, welcomed 12.5 million passengers through its gates. This is set to climb to over 15 million in 2016. The passengers aren’t just domestic, either: the airport already has connectivity to over 50 global cities, either through direct or multi-stop flights. The livery on the aircraft parked outside its terminals show companies from countries in the Middle East and beyond: impressive progress achieved in only 8 short years.

AN AIRPORT INDIA CAN BE PROUD OF Hyderbad Airport was conceived over 10 years ago, as the city’s planners decided that an airport was required to develop the burgeoning city’s potential. Research was conducted into all aspects of how a well-functioning modern

first airports to receive British Safety Council awards y and sustainability.

airport should be in terms of best practice, best design and ultimately, the best product for the end customer. A decision was made to use the public-private partnership model for funding – the first of its kind in India, and construction works began in 2005.

The construction phase for the airport created an estimated 830,000 jobs directly or indirectly in the Hyderabad region.

It included the building of a 4.2km runway – long even by international standards – a specialized termin and the impressive passenger terminal.

The future ambitions of the team behind the airport are exhibited by the fact that the airport is one of the first in the world to be modular – that is, future expansion can be carried out without disturbing any of the airport’s operations.

The IATA recently named it one of the world’s best airport in the 5-15 million passenger

capacity. It’s the seventh consecutive time that the airport has received the award since its inauguration in 2008 and is highlights the good work has been achieved in such a short time.

Elsewhere, Hyderabad and Glasgow were recently the world’s first airports to receive British Safety Council awards in the area of safety and sustainability.

DEDICATION TO VISITORS The IATA award metioned in the previous section was only achieved through Hyderabad’s unrelenting focus on its visitors. That particular award is based on passenger feedback, which uses 24 different paramaters. The success reflects the airport’s core focus on passenger experience which can be seen everywhere: from its online feedback systems and actively maintained social media channels.

The airport also has its own call centre and regularly maintained e-mail accounts. There is also a department, QSD, standing for Quality Service Department, which looks into all the passenger feedback and looking to see how

the service can be improved. Theirs is a constant dialogue with passengers to establish their expectations, and looking to improve on any negative comments that appear. As Mr. Kishore points out: “the bottom line is that we put a lot of focus on core passenger experience.

Passengers are the ultimate customer.”

Its innovation in the area of airport technology has also been developed in lessening the hassle that travellers have sometimes come to expect from airports. For example, it was the first airport approved for the e-boarding solution which was developed in-house. It means that passengers can board planes with minimal manual intervention. This comes in addition to being the first airport in India to offer mobile check-in using QR codes.

LOCAL ENGAGEMENT From the outset, the management of Hyderabad Airport have understood the importance of local engagement. Because the Indian aviation

Management view the terminal as a hotel lobby.

This means that many of the people working there have hospitality experience. There are regular brainstorming workshops, feedback panels, roundtable discussions which involve all the airport’s stakeholders. In short, veryone is engaged in making the customer service among the best in the aviation industry: from the people working in retail, to catering and even the security staff. “At every stage, we’re asking passengers what they’d like to see added to the airport” says Kishore.

industry is still nascent in global terms (until now, rail has been a far more popular mode of transport within the country’s borders), several products and employees were drafted in from abroad for the airport’s startup. Slowly

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but surely, however, more and more locals are being employed…and the airport is thriving as a result.

estimated at running into billions of rupees.

The construction phase– spread over three years - generated just under 12 billion rupees.

One measure taken by the airport to develop and harness the skills and abilities of locals is the so-called Aviation Academy.

PARTNERS AND SUPPLIERS

All areas of the airport from retail to security have certified courses, which can be availed of without any cost to the individual. The result is not only that locals can upskill, but also that a spirit of self-development is fostered in every corner of the business.

Beyond its own employes, the airport had had a tangible effect on the lives of thousands

It does not take much time to realize why Hyderbad, as Mr. Kishore elegantly puts it, “is not so much a standalone airport so much as an entirely integrated ecosystem”. The “one family, one vision” motto that it uses extends to its partners. These range from international companies with signficant presence in India, such as Larsen & Toubro, the construction company and Dalkin Airconditioning India PVT, which looks after the airports considerable HVAC network.

Indian suppliers have also benefitted hugely from the airport and are set to be some of the main beneficiaries of the airport’s continuing growth. These include Beumer Technology, which looks after the airports baggage handling operations, Enerparc Solar Power, Smith Detection X-Ray machines and Vitra India which provides the airport with its seating.

of others besides. It has created, directly or indirectly, around 830,000 jobs in the city and its evirons. Around 120,000 jobs were created at the inception phase alone, while its contribution to the local economy is

In the near future, a partnership with Indian Rail looks like emerging.

The government is keen to tie-up the infrastructure of Hyderabad into a modern integrated system. This will involve bringing the country’s rail network right to the airport’s doorstep, and allow the area’s considerable manufacturing, aerospace, IT

and pharmaceutical industries to continue to flourish.

THE FUTURE In the coming years, double digit growth is expected to continue so management are already planning expansion of the terminal to deal with the increased traffic of passengers.

In addition, management have recognized the huge potential for the airport to deal with the cargo for commodities and perishables, and plans are already underway to develop their capacity in this area.

In the medium term, management are investigating the possibility of making Hyderabad a redistribution centre for express cargo. Naturally, this will be aided by India’s large and growing trade with countries like China and the US, as well as India’s growing prowess as a leader in the manufacturing sector. Logistics, therefore, will be crucial and Hyderabad Airport can play an obvious role.

The team behind Hyderabad Airport continue to do a remarkable job in maintaining such high standards at a breakneck speed of growth.

Before long, Hyderabad Airport City, as it is now being called, will no doubt be making more and more appearances on boarding gate signs in airport terminals all over the world. Maybe only then will the family behind the airport have achieved their mission.

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd Shamshabad – Hyderabad 500409 Telangana State, India Fax: +91 40 6676 8236 Tel: +91 40 6739 4099 from 9.30 to 17.30 on weekdays and 9.30 to 13.00 on Saturdays (Business Hours) http://www.hyderabad.aero/traveller.aspx

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