Fliers from Delhi may pay development fee for 4 yrs

New Delhi: Passengers travelling from Delhi International Airport (DIAL) may have to pay airport development fee (ADF) for four years. The GMR-led consortium has approached the civil aviation ministry to allow it to charge ADF for 48 months instead of 34 months as decided earlier. The proposal is awaiting Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (Aera) approval. A senior aviation ministry official said that a decision is likely by next month.
“DIAL had approached us last month. They want to extend it by one year. There is a shortfall of about Rs 2,500 core. The ADF is primarily used for repayment of loans taken to meet the shortfall,” the official, who did not want to be named, said.
At present, air passengers using Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) pay an ADF of Rs 1,300 for foreign trip, and Rs 200 for domestic travel. The aviation ministry had allowed DIAL to collect ADF last year, starting March 2009.
DIAL is a joint venture company led by Bangalore-based GMR Group with Airports Authority of India, Fraport and Malaysian Airport Holdings. The airport handles 15-25 million passengers. It has become the busiest airport in the country. It handled 25.25 million flyers during 2009. With the modernisation plan completed, it is expected to have a capacity of handling 33 million passengers annually.
18/05/10 Parul Chhaparia/mydigitalfc.com

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Categories: Airports May 2010