Overview
- Officials say the Home Ministry has denied a BCAS request to relax the rule that bars foreign nationals from serving as CEOs of new airports.
- The Noida airport chief, Christoph Schnellmann of Zurich Airport’s local arm, has not received mandatory security clearance, so operations cannot begin.
- BCAS has yet to approve the Aerodrome Security Programme, the required security plan that an airport must clear before carrying passengers.
- The airport secured its aerodrome licence on March 6 and was inaugurated on March 28, yet commercial service is still on hold pending security sign-off.
- Unless the rule changes, the operator may need to appoint an Indian national as CEO, a step that critics question because airline CEOs in India can be foreign.