New Delhi: Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) is part of India's ambitious plan to develop four airport hubs that will enable seamless transfers, mirroring the efficiency of hubs in Dubai, Doha, Singapore, and Frankfurt. The hub-and-spoke model will first roll out at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) from June 1, while the aviation ministry has already begun work on the other three hubs: KIA, Mumbai Airport, and Rajkot Hirasar Airport.
How the Hub-and-Spoke Model Works
Once the infrastructure is in place, passengers can fly into these airports from multiple cities within India and then connect smoothly to international flights. For instance, a passenger flying from Lucknow to Delhi and onward to London can check in their baggage at Lucknow itself, provided both flights (Lucknow-Delhi and Delhi-London) are operated by the same airline or code-share partner carriers. This eliminates the need to collect and recheck bags at the hub. Customs and immigration processes will also be streamlined at the hub airport, making transfers more efficient than before.
Current State and Future Plans
While India already has modern airport infrastructure that requires tweaks, the government hopes to have strong airlines beyond IndiGo once the Air India group gets its act together and other carriers like Akasa grow over time. A senior official explained: "For each hub, we are identifying spoke partners. The idea is to ensure a passenger flying from Raipur to Oman via Rajkot, for instance, is able to clear customs and immigration at Raipur itself and then take the connecting flight to Oman from Rajkot. The return journey will be equally smooth."
The aviation ministry is coordinating with the home, finance, and external affairs ministries, among others, as many aspects required for a true hub-and-spoke model fall within their remit. While the Air India group, IndiGo, and Akasa count Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru as key bases, Rajkot is likely to get its required airline connectivity for both domestic and international legs from IndiGo, according to people implementing the plan.
Strategic Importance of Rajkot
"Rajkot is the easternmost reasonably big airport in India, with key Gulf destinations less than two hours away," noted an official. In the past few decades, the absence of strong domestic airlines and airports meant that the real hubs for Indian globetrotters were outside the country. With India creating big airports since the start of the millennium and its airlines having a large number of wide-body aircraft on order, the government feels it is time to shift this mega transfer business to the country.
Addressing Pain Points for Passengers
The government is tackling what is the biggest pain point for international-to-domestic transfer passengers. Currently, they need to collect their baggage at the port of arrival in India, clear customs, and then check in baggage again for the domestic connecting flight. The aviation ministry stated: "Baggage for both inbound and outbound international passengers will be transferred seamlessly through airside operations at the hub airport, eliminating the need for passenger intervention."
How Hub-and-Spoke Works
Outbound Flyers
- At the spoke airport, passengers receive two boarding passes (one for domestic and one for international) for two flights.
- Customs and immigration are completed at the first point of exit from India.
Inbound Flyers
- Customs and immigration are completed at the final point of entry into India.
- Baggage for both inbound and outbound passengers is transferred seamlessly through airside operations.
- Combination flights are not permitted for now; separate aircraft are used for domestic and international segments of hub-and-spoke operations.
(Source: Aviation Ministry)
