Airport Economic Regulatory Authority is expected to issue a consultation paper proposing an increase of more than 500% in the charges at the Mumbai airport due to the escalation in the cost of the modernisation work.
Fliers might soon feel a pinch in their pocket.
The Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) is expected to issue a consultation paper proposing an increase of more than 500% in the charges at the Mumbai airport due to the escalation in the cost of the modernisation work, said sources.
If the proposal is accepted by the AERA, the increased airport tariff will put an additional burden on all airlines, which will then automatically be passed on to the passengers. The AERA is a regulatory body which decides on the economic aspects of an airport.
Airport officials said that once the consultation paper is out in the public, it will be subjected to comments, recommendations and analysis from all interested parties. After due process of analysing all the aspects of the project, the AERA may decide on the actual hike in the charges.
In May, the Delhi airport saw an increase of around 334% in the aeronautical tariffs, making it one of the most expensive airports in the world, prompting many airlines to consider from operating there.
According to an estimate prepared by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation — a leading think tank in the aviation sector — the Mumbai airport saw traffic of more than 30.4 million passengers in 2011. It is expected to rise to around 40 million with the opening up of a new terminal in 2013-14.
Sources at the Mumbai airport said that the cost escalation took place as the government delayed the process of clearing the slums around the airport, forcing the modernisation work to move at snail’s pace. The Mumbai airport was privatised in 2006, and is now being maintained by a GVK-led consortium. In addition to Mumbai, at least eight other airports in the country have proposed a hike in their charges. “Such indiscriminate hikes will definitely kill the tourism and aviation industry in India,” said Iqbal Mulla, president, Travel Agents' Association of India.
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