Current airport tariffs to continue till AERAAT decision: HC

The current aeronautical charges for the IGI Airport here would remain in force till the pleas challenging them are decided by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority Appellate Tribunal (AERAAT), Delhi High Court ruled today.
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw also directed the Civil Aviation Ministry to select and finalise the Chairperson and other members of the tribunal within four weeks.
The tribunal (AERAAT) was also directed to decide within eight weeks, the pleas before it challenging the aeronautical tariffs for the April 2009-March 2014 period.
The court passed the order on the plea of GMR-operated Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) which has challenged the high court's single judge's decision allowing Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) to fix new tariff for the period from 2014 to 2019 even when the dispute against the earlier one was pending before AERAAT.

Setting aside the single judge order, the division bench said, "Having regard to the fact that appellant's (DIAL) appeal is pending from May 2012 and similar appeals preferred against the tariff orders for first control period in respect of other major airports are also pending before AERAAT..., we deem it appropriate to direct Ministry of Civil Aviation to finalise selection and appointment of the Chairperson and members of AERAAT at the earliest, within four weeks of today.
"We further direct AERAAT to decide the said appeals within eight weeks therefrom i.E. Latest within twelve weeks herefrom," the bench also said, adding "we see no harm to anyone in ordering that the tariff determined for the first control period (from April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2014) shall continue till decision of the appeals by AERAAT".