Ministry, new Bangalore airport body at odds on passenger levy

The operator of the Bengaluru International Airport, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (Bial) has declined a suggestion from the ministry of civil aviation that it waive a controversial fee it plans to levy on passengers when it opens for operations in the second week of May.
Bial, a Siemens AG-led consortium, wants to charge Rs240 from each domestic passenger and Rs520 on each international ticket from 11 May for the first two months and increase these to Rs675 and Rs955, respectively, thereafter.
This proposed charge, called user development fee, or UDF, also planned at the new GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL)-run Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is in addition to a Rs225 passenger service fee that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) levies on all airline tickets and taxes on such charges.
The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad, which opened for commercial service on Sunday, has agreed to the civil aviation ministry’s request to keep an all-inclusive UDF of up to Rs1,000 limited to international passengers while sparing domestic commuters for at least the first three months of operations.
Bial, a senior ministry official said, has written to it saying the airport cannot waive fees as the Hyderabad operator has done and has asked for a meeting with civil aviation minister Praful Patel to explain its stance. A Bial spokeswoman said the matter was “currently under discussion” with the government.
The government wants Bial to follow the same structure as Hyderabad as there cannot be two sets of exceptions.
27/03/08 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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Categories: Airports Mar 2008, New Mar 2008