Airport regulator seeks ministry view on carrier charges

New Delhi: India’s airport regulator may take another three months to decide on the charges that carriers pay at the country’s larger airports.
The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority, or Aera, which was expected to announce its decision around this month, has now sought the advice of the civil aviation ministry on the matter, said Yashwant Bhave, chairman of the regulator. Aera will await the government’s comments before drawing up tariffs.
“Each stakeholder has to be taken on board and government is certainly a very important stakeholder,” he said. Once the process is finalized, draft guidelines will be issued, he said.
Aera, which was set up late last year, is drafting fee policy at a dozen airports that get at least 1.5 million passengers every year. Airports and carriers are battling over the fee model to be followed.
Airlines and Aera prefer the so-called single-till model, which is followed at UK airports such as Heathrow and Gatwick, in which all principal activities, including aeronautical and commercial (or retail) functions, will be charged under a single window, keeping costs down. In contrast, the dual-till model has aeronautical or flying-related activities being charged under one head while the remaining activities are charged under a second till, resulting in a higher payout by carriers.
21/04/10 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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Categories: Airports Apr 2010, Indian Aviation- In General Apr 2010