Indian airports petition rejected

India's airports have not been able to keep up with the growth in traffic

India's Supreme Court has rejected a petition by an unsuccessful bidder challenging the award of contracts for privatising two main airports.

The court said that the petition by Reliance Airport Developers owned by businessman Anil Ambani had "no merit".

In February, the federal government decided that Delhi and Mumbai (Bombay) airports would be leased to construction firms GMR and GVK.

The firms along with their foreign partners won the modernisation bids.

A spokesman for Reliance had said awarding the contract for Delhi airport to GMR had been "illegal and arbitrary".

Indian airport workers went on strike in January after the government awarded the contracts saying that privatisation would lead to job cuts and hardship for thousands of staff.

The government has sought to allay workers' fears, saying all employees will be retained for the first three years.

Delhi and Mumbai airports handle almost 65% of India's international traffic of 19m passengers a year.