Kerala expats decry Indian airport ‘fees’

Doha: A Keralite expatriate forum representative said he is considering a petition to the Kerala High Court, seeking its intervention to prevent the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) from moving ahead with its plans to reintroduce the users’ fee at the airport.
Speaking to Gulf Times, Kareem Abdullah, patron of Indian Expatriates Cultural Association (Indeca) said it is “unfortunate” that the airport company’s board, which includes some prominent Gulf-based expatriates, is pushing its plans to “punish” ordinary expatriates with the reintroduction of a fee that was withdrawn two years ago.
Kareem was drawn in a decade long legal battle which ultimately led to the withdrawal of users fee at Karippur airport in Kerala’s Malappuram district in June 2005. He had filed the petition in 1995.
In separate statements issued yesterday Sanskriti, Friends of Thrissur and Friends of Tiruvalla (Fota) decried the move.
Urging airport authorities to explore other options for raising finances, the forums called upon the board to introduce “innovative” measures to raise finances.
27/07/07 Gulf Times, Qatar

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Categories: Airports Jul 2007, Foreign Jul 2007