New Delhi: The Adani Group has recently hiked charges by as high as 10-times at Lucknow airport. Charges like ‘turnaround charges’ at the airport have been raised drastically for private jets and international flights. The Economic Times citing aviation industry experts mentioned in a report that after Lucknow, charges at other Adani group-operated airports may witness similar hikes.
The Adani Group has won bids to operate six government airports- Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Mangalore, Thiruvananthapuram and Lucknow for 50 years in 2019. While a lot of charges at airports across the country are regulated either by the government or Airport Economic Regulatory Authority, a ground handling company has the leeway to increase charges.
The regulator, AERA, decides on charges at airports for five years. In the case of Lucknow airport, the five-year period ended last year but the decision on charges for the next five years is pending, as the Adani Group took over the airport late last year. The airport operator in Lucknow has hired a new ground handling company which has led to the increase in tariffs, the publication mentioned.
However, flight operators complain that there is no noticeable upgrade in service quality despite the increase in charges. “There is no significant improvement in services to justify this huge spike in charges. Also, many of these business jet flights to Lucknow are medical evacuation flights,” the publication quoted a business jet aircraft operator as saying.
31/05/21 ETNowNews.com
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