The civil aviation ministry has mandated airlines and ground handling (GH) companies to phase out airport equipment that is older than twelve years and switch to electric or fuel efficient variants by May 2022.
While the companies have welcomed the ministry’s green initiative, they said that the deadline for implementation is tight, especially in the wake of financial challenges faced by the aviation sector during the pandemic.
Ground handling covers functions such as check-in, passenger boarding, cargo loading and unloading, aircraft cleaning etc. While domestic airlines are allowed to do self-handling, foreign airlines rely on GH companies.
