Cochin Airport defers decision on charging user fee

Kochi: In a meeting held at Kochi day before yesterday, managers of the Cochin International Airport failed to decide if they should reintroduce a user charge on every passenger, said an IANS report. This information was divulged by Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, who is also the Chairman of Cochin International Airport Ltd. (CIAL), after the Annual General Meeting of Board of Directors of CIAL. Achuthanandan, who presided over the meeting, said that a decision on charging user charge on every passenger will be taken at the next meeting of the Board of Directors of CIAL, India’s first airport built on a Public-Private Partnership model. CIAL used to charge a fee of Rs 500 till December 31, 2005, when its then Chairman and Chief Minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy, decided to cancel the fee following a series of protests from passengers.
Speaking to reporters after the AGM, Achuthanandan said there were contrasting opinions on this matter. “One section wanted the user fee of Rs 500 to be reinstated, while another wanted the present situation to continue and yet another group wanted to charge Rs 250 per passenger as user fee. But finally we decided that this would be decided at the next Board meeting,” he said.
The meeting also decided that CIAL should be developed so it could become a hub of the international aviation industry; as part of this plan, more aprons will be built. It was also decided that 40 more check-in counters will be added, apart from a state-of-the-art storage facility for perishable goods that will be built at a cost of Rs 247.3 million in July next year.
22/12/08 Travel Biz Monitor

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Categories: Airports Dec 2008