The Mumbai airport became the fourth airport in the country to be allowed to levy a development fee from passengers to bridge the shortfall in funds for modernising the facility.
The government approved collection of Rs 100 from outbound domestic passengers and Rs 600 from international passengers from April 1. The fee would be in force for four years, but be reviewed after six months.
The Mumbai airport modernisation project cost is pegged at Rs 9,802 crore and the Mumbai International Airport Ltd has been allowed to raise up to Rs 1,543 crore through the development fee. However, if the project cost escalates beyond Rs 9,802 crore, MIAL would have to tap other fund sources.
New airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore have been charging a development and DIAL, which manages the New Delhi airport, too was allowed to charge the development fee, although the move has come in for criticism from global airlines' body IATA.
Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel had said on Thursday that such fees could be imposed even at airports being modernised by the state-owned Airports Authority of India.
The massive aviation infrastructure required in India "cannot be made on such a scale without the contribution from passengers and other stakeholders," he had said.
The government earlier approved levying ADF from passengers flying out of Delhi airport, with effect from March 1, at the rate of Rs 200 per domestic passenger and Rs 1,300 per passenger travelling abroad.
"Development fees can be levied even at Kolkata, Chennai, Goa, Ahmedabad and Thiruvananthapuram airports, which are being developed solely by the AAI," Patel had said.
On Thursday, Mumbai International Airport Lt promoter Sanjay Reddy of the GVK Group had said, "If you want world class infrastructure, you will have to figure out the way to get it and finance it. What form (ADF or User Development Fee) it will take should be left to the regulator or the government."
An independent auditor appointed by Airports Authority of India would audit the receipts from the fee.
MIAL had proposed the levy of Rs 375 per departing domestic passenger and Rs 1,000 per departing international passenger as development fee.
