 "A SpiceJet passenger aircraft prepares to land at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel international airport in Ahmedabad")
The International Air Transport Association has rapped the government on its recent decision on airport fees and for having made the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) “a toothless entity”.
Despite reservations from airlines and the regulator, the government has finalised what is termed the hybrid till model for airports. In this, a portion of non-aeronautical revenue at an airport is taken into consideration while fixing the landing and parking charges, user fees and other such levies. Airport owners favour this model over what is called single till, which uses the entire non-aeronautical revenue to offset aeronautical charges. While the government's draft policy indicated rates at all future airports would be calculated on a hybrid till basis, the final policy has opted for hybrid till, causing concern at airlines.
IATA said it would be approaching the ministry to get a clarification on the seemingly minor change in wording, which would majorly impact charges at airports. “This change (between draft and final policies) will impact the basis for tariff (rate) determination for private airports in India, and also signal the AAI to switch from the single till approach to hybrid till. This makes AERA a toothless entity. Passenger charges in India will increase, making air travel more expensive. And, it contradicts one of the stated intentions of the policy, to make flying affordable,” stated Conrad Clifford, regional vice-president of IATA.
