India, July 17 -- India's airports have seen a dramatic makeover in almost all metro cities and several tier-II towns, largely due to the entry of the private sector into airport infrastructure and management. Those who flew in the 1970s and 1980s may recall how decrepit airport infrastructure made the risk of a beam or an entire roof collapsing seem higher than an aircraft-related incident. Even major airports had a tired look and feel, a signature of the Airport Authority of India (AAI)'s management.

Now, almost all metropolitan airports - Mumbai and the National Capital Region have two each - have vastly improved facilities. Chennai, however, remains a glaring exception. In 2005-06, when the privatisation of metropolitan airports was ...