Kerala govt opposes User Development Fee at Trivandrum Airport

Mumbai: The Kerala government has opposed the proposal of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to levy User Development Fee (UDF) on international passengers at the Trivandrum International Airport in Thiruvananthapuram. According to a report by Mihir Mishra in Business Standard, the letter by the government to AAI, according to an AAI official who did not wish to be identified, questions the move and has asked AAI why they require to levy UDF on international passengers as they have got the land (for the airport) at a much cheaper rate. The letter also states that UDF will burden the passengers a lot. “We have replied stating that the investment made is to be recovered and the investment does not include the value of the land,” the AAI official informed.
AAI has got approval from Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) to charge Rs 755 per departing international passenger for a period of 10 years. The approval for any charges to be levied at major airports (that handle 1.5 million and more passengers annually) comes from AERA and that for minor airports comes from the Civil Aviation Ministry. “Considering the political equations in Kerala, we decided to charge UDF only from international passengers and not domestic passengers,” said the AAI official.
12/07/10 TravelBizMonitor

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports Jul 2010