India's Delhi airport operator sues government over flights from defence airbase

DIAL seeks to overturn the government's decision, and cites media reports for its contention that flights by Air India Express began operating in March from the Hindon Airforce Station, about 30 km (19 miles) from the Delhi airport.

The operator of the Indian capital's international airport, majority owned by GMR Airports, is suing the government for allowing commercial flights from a nearby defence aerodrome, legal papers show in a case to be heard on Monday.

The airport is one of India's busiest, with about 73.6 million passengers using it last year, though it made a loss of $21 million because of higher government fees. In contrast, by Sunday, the number of airbase users was about 1,400.

The Delhi airport will become "economically and financially unviable," after the government permitted commercial flights from the defence airbase in Ghaziabad, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said in the March 10 lawsuit.

In the suit, which Reuters is the first to report, DIAL told the Delhi High Court the government breached aviation rules barring a new airport within an aerial distance of 150 km (90 miles) of an existing one, unless there is passenger demand.

The state-run Airports Authority of India also has a stake in DIAL. India's civil aviation ministry did not immediately respond to e-mails seeking comment.

DIAL seeks to overturn the government's decision, and cites media reports for its contention that flights by Air India Express began operating in March from the Hindon Airforce Station, about 30 km (19 miles) from the Delhi airport.DIAL is represented by Trilegal, a law firm based in India.