New policy on aeronautical charges on the cards

The traditional revenue model for airport development may be tweaked for new airports, especially the ones expected to come up in 35 non-metros over the next few years.
Speaking to DNA Money, a senior ministry official indicated that the government may soon come out with a policy on cross-subsidisation of aeronautical charges at non-metro airports.
"We are going to make a policy that at least 30% of non-aeronautical revenues should be ploughed back to the aeronautical side," he said.
Simply put, this allows private developers of non-metro airports to offer some of the unused land for development of hotels, conference halls, shopping malls etc and use the revenue so generated for cross-subsidising aeronautical charges airlines pay at present.
Not only would such a model help the development of more profitable airport ventures, it would also ultimately lower user development fee (UDF) for passengers - an issue new airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore are already grappling with.
The official said that, for the first time, such a model would be implemented in Amritsar and Udaipur.
31/03/08 Sindhu Bhattacharya/ DNA MONEY/Sify

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Categories: Airports Mar 2008, Indian Aviation- In General Mar 2008