Civil aviation ministry, airports regulator spar over airport fee

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry and the airports regulator have locked horns over an issue that has implications on the amount of airport taxes Indian fliers would pay.
The ministry has complained to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the airports regulator's approach is not conducive to the healthy growth of airports under public-private partnership (PPP).
Reacting to the charge, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) has said its decisions are driven by passengers' interest and a fair return on equity for airport operators.
AERA Chairman Yashwant Bhave has sought time with the PMO's top official, TKA Nair, to explain the regulator's stand on what it feels is a surprise attack from the ministry.
The ministry has neither given its views on what it considers 'desirable for healthy growth' of airports under PPPs nor has it commented on the fair return on equity that airport operators must get, Bhave wrote in a missive to Nair.
The differences between the ministry and the regulator surfaced ahead of a meeting chaired by the PM on September 8 to review the major problem areas affecting the aviation ministry's work. With regard to the AERA, the ministry flagged concerns about viability of airports under the PPP model because of the regulator's approach.
23/09/11 Vikas Dhoot/Economic Times

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Categories: airports Sep 2011