The privatisation and modernisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports will come with strict conditions on employee retention. The developers of the two airports would have to absorb a minimum of 40 per cent of the existing employees in these airports, the government said today.

"The empowered group of ministers has decided that the joint venture company developing the two airports will be required to absorb a minimum of net 40 per cent of the existing employees at these airports. The employees who are not absorbed by the joint venture companies will revert to the Airports Authority of India," Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

The foreign direct investment has been capped at 49 per cent and minimum 25 per cent equity in the joint venture group is to be held by Indian entities. Besides, maximum permissible equity participation by Indian scheduled airlines has been increased from 5 to 10 per cent.

Ten consortiums have bid for taking up the two airports, including consortium of Bharti Enterprise-Singapore Changi Airport, Videocon-Methven Corp, Hochtief Airpot-Piramal Holding, Macquarie Bank-Agarwal Galvanising-Aeoprorts De Paris, GMR Infrastructure-Fraport AG, Pan India Paryatan-TAV Investment Construction Corp, GVK Industries-Airports Company South Africa, DLF-Malaysia Airport, Reliance Airport and DS Construction-Flughafen Munchen of Munich.

Patel also said that Air-India would add two more flights in the Mumbai-Frankfurt-Los Angeles route and Mumbai-Delhi-London route from November 2004. Air-India currently operates three flights per week on Mumbai-Frankfurt-Los Angeles and back route and it proposes to add two more frequencies with B747-400 aircraft from November.

The airline, which operates twice on Mumbai-Delhi- London and back route every week, will add one more flight per week on the sector with B747-400 aircraft.

To another question, Patel said under the existing policy, Air-India had the first right of refusal on operations on new international routes.