Airport fee will add to your travel bills

Mumbai: Airfares are set to rise again, with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) proposing an Airport Development Fee (ADF) of Rs 300 on flights to domestic non-metro destinations and Rs 1,000 ($20) on international flights. The proposal will be sent to the civil aviation ministry for approval next week, and may come into effect from September 1 this year, said an AAI official, who did not wish to be named.
The International Air Transport Association has said in a statement they have opposed the fee.
To begin with, ADF will be imposed on passengers flying to 12 airports, according to the proposal. Among the destinations earmarked for the fee are Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Udaipur, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram. In the second phase, ADF will cover another 23 non-metro airports. It will be charged for 10-15 years and will be put into an escrow account, said the official.
An escrow is maintained by a third party, which makes sure funds will be disbursed only after pre-agreed conditions have been fulfiled.
AAI will earn Rs 700-800 crore from ADF, which will be used for development and upgradation of non-metro airports. It will also finance its airport modernisation programme, which is under way across the country. AAI has earmarked Rs 3,000 crore for undertaking developmental projects across various airports during 2009-2010.
21/07/09 Mithun Roy/Economic Times

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Categories: Airports Jul 2009, Indian Aviation- In General Jul 2009