ANNOUNCEMENTS
This study investigates human rights risks across the airport infrastructure value chain in the Indian context, applying a two-phased research design comprising a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and semi-structured expert interviews. While global frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights emphasize corporate responsibility across value chains, sector-specific methodologies for risk identification remain limited. This research develops an eight-stage airport value chain ranging from raw material sourcing to end-of-life waste management, based on 45 peer-reviewed and grey literature sources. Each stage is mapped with key operational activities, associated stakeholder groups, and potential human rights risks.
In Phase 2, thirty-one experts from regulatory, operational, and advocacy domains validated and enriched the findings. Thematic coding across four dimensions (activities, stakeholders, rights, and control) revealed critical insights. High-risk areas include subcontracted construction labour, informal waste handling, and frontline passenger services marked by gendered labour and wage concerns. The analysis also identifies a mismatch between visibility and risk. Highly visible functions such as terminal services are often less controlled, while opaque stages such as raw material sourcing carry hidden risks.
Triangulation between literature and interviews enables the construction of a prioritised risk matrix that highlights zones of low control and high exposure. The study proposes operational and policy-level interventions including social tiering in ESG disclosures, integration of rights checkpoints into standard operating procedures, and a comprehensive due diligence logic model tailored for airport operators. The findings contribute to both academic understanding and practical governance of human rights in complex infrastructure ecosystems.
Keywords: Human rights due diligence, airport value chain, ESG risks, stakeholder mapping, infrastructure governance.
