Headhunters scouting for airport talent are eyeing staff at Singapore's Changi in hopes of luring qualified people to fill key positions in India, media reports said Wednesday.

Infrastructure giant GMR Group, leading the consortia tasked with building and running new airports in New Delhi and Hyderabad, has hired a recruitment firm in the city-state to fill 15 key positions in airport management, operations and ground handling, according to The Straits Times.

While foreign carriers such as Emirates regularly conduct pilot and cabin-crew recruitment exercises in Singapore and elsewhere, GMR is believed to be the first foreign airport operator to advertise for staff in the city-state in a significant way.

With Changi's reputed brand name and many more airport development projects in India, the Middle East and China coming up, keeping good people will be a growing challenge for the airport, said analyst Shukor Yusof of Standard and Poor's Equity Research.

Middle East companies have demonstrated they are prepared to 'over-pay' to attract good people, Yusof said.

GMR's recruitment drive coincides with a pay-structure review by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).

A CAAS spokesman told the newspaper that salary reviews are done regularly to ensure that remuneration packages 'are competitive in order that we can attract and retain talent.'

Talent will flow to where the grass is greener, said analyst Andrew Miller with the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

Any airport that has good talent and does not understand this will see some of that talent depart offshore, he said.