Airlines call for talks on Hyderabad airport infrastructure fee demand

Mumbai: Domestic airlines have sought more time from the GMR Group-controlled Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad to pay a common infrastructure charge (CIC) levied by the airport on them for using facilities such as aerobridges, common reservation systems and computerized visual guiding systems that help pilots park planes.
In a letter dated 7 January, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (Ghial), which runs the new Hyderabad airport, had asked domestic carriers to clear their dues since 23 March, the date when the airport was commissioned, warning that it would stop certain infrastructure services to the airlines form 14 January if they failed to pay up.
The airport is asking Indian carriers to pay Rs70 per outbound passenger who will use the aerobridge and Rs48 for every passenger using boarding ladders. An aerobridge, also known as an airbridge or jetway, is an automated walkway that links the boarding gate at the terminal with the aircraft’s door.
According to Ghial, domestic airlines owe Rs14 crore to the airport. The airport handles 18,000 passengers (outbound and inbound) a day.
However, no services have been affected yet as airlines have called for talks with the airport to resolve the issue.
On 13 January, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), a lobby group for domestic carriers, wrote a letter to P.S. Nair, chief executive officer of Ghial, asking the airport to give carriers time to prepare for provision of these services to passengers in case Ghial withdraws them. The letter has been reviewed by Mint.
A senior Ghial official, who did not want to be identified, said the airport does not plan to disrupt flight services by denying services to the airlines for non-payment of CICs, “but what stops airlines paying us when they were paying the same at old Hyderabad airport and other airports for services used by them?”
15/01/09 P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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Categories: Airports Jan 2009