The Airport Authority of India (AAI) is proposing an Airport Development Fee (ADF) of Rs 300 on flights to domestic non-metro destinations and Rs 1,000 on international flights. According to a report in Economic Times by Mithun Roy, the proposal will be sent to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) for approval next week and may come into effect from September 1, 2009. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) in a statement has opposed the fee.
Initially, the ADF will be imposed on passengers flying to 12 airports, according to the proposal. Some of the destinations earmarked among those selected for the Fee include: Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Udaipur, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram. In the second phase, ADF will cover another 23 non-metro airports. The Fee will be charged for ten-15 years and will be put into an Escrow account. An Escrow is maintained by a third party, which makes sure funds will be disbursed only after pre-agreed conditions have been fulfilled. AAI will earn Rs 700-800 crore from ADF, which will be used for development and up gradation of non-metro airports. |