New private airports charge much more than global peers

New Delhi: Private airports at Bangalore, Hyderabad have proposed heavy user development fees.
Leading airports in the world impose much lower user development fees (UDF) on passengers departing from their premises than what the private developers that are building or modernising airports in India propose to charge.
It is common in many other airports that are being modernised including New Zealand's Auckland airport and Ireland's Dublin airport. Almost all Canadian and Brazilian airports impose fees on passengers to fund modernisation.
In India, controversies have arisen recently as the new airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore - being developed by public-private consortia - propose to charge a steep UDF of around Rs 750 from each domestic passenger and Rs 950 to Rs 1,000 from each international passenger.
In comparison, Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi international airport, which handles over 50 million passengers a year, charges much less.
Indian airport developers defend charging higher rates on the ground that their capital costs are higher and the passenger base is much lower than international airports.
07/03/08 Surajeet Das Gupta/Business Standard

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports Mar 2008, New Mar 2008