Delhi Airport Proposed Fee Hike Alarms International Airlines

Several international carriers are threatening to reduce or eliminate service to Indira Ghandi International Airport (IGI) because of a dramatic increase in fees proposed by the facility’s operator, Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (DIAL)
“The proposed multi-fold increase of landing charges at IGI airport is counterproductive, since India risks pricing itself out of the market for regional aviation hubs in Asia and the Middle East,” says Axel Hilgers, Lufthansa’s director for South Asia. Flights will be diverted from India and its new international gateway at Delhi for the benefit of competing airports in the region, Hilgers says. “Increasing flight traffic, not charges, is the only sustainable way to improve airport utilization and revenues,” he adds.
India’s Airport Economic Regulatory Authority [AERA] met Jan. 18 with stakeholders to discuss the 774% hike in landing, parking, navigation and other charges sought by DIAL, beginning April 1. AERA proposes an increase of 334.6%. According to a government official, almost all representatives of international airlines at the meeting opposed the increase, saying the time is not right for this “drastic step.”
The official says airlines like the British Airways, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa strongly opposed DIAL’s proposal.
20/01/12 Jay Menon/Aviation Week

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Categories: airports Jan 2012, Foreign Jan 2012