The government considering creation of a an Airport Economic Regulatory Authority to ensure a level playing field for all airport developers in the country, according to Ministry of civil aviation joint secretary K N Srivastav.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta termed the exorbitant rise of airfares by airlines as "exploitation" and asked the Centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to file their replies to a PIL seeking binding regulatory guidelines to control the unpredictable fluctuations in airfare and ancillary charges imposed by private airlines in India.
The cost of any flight from Delhi and Mumbai could rise by up to Rs 3,000 soon unless the airport regulator is able to reverse a court order.
The government on Thursday cleared the proposed Bill for setting up the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority.
Riding high on the aviation boom, India has built 17 international airports.
Aviation regulator DGCA plans to implement measures to control excessive air ticket price increases, following concerns raised during a parliamentary panel meeting. The meeting also addressed air safety issues in light of the Ahmedabad plane crash.
Reconstruction of the terminal is expected to be completed by September 2028.
Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) has proposed a significant increase in User Development Fee (UDF) for international passengers, while domestic passengers will be charged a UDF for the first time. However, MIAL also proposed a 35% reduction in landing and parking charges, aiming to balance infrastructure development with cost-effective air travel for airlines. The new tariff structure is subject to approval by the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA).
The slot charge has been included in Mumbai International Airport Limited's rate revision proposal.
Modernisation and expansion of the Kolkata and Chennai airports are being carried.
The creation of joint ventures by Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has not impacted its revenue share, says the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
This would be a key function of the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority, to be set up to regulate tariffs, said a civil aviation ministry official.
The bill to set up an Airport Economic Regulatory Authority, which will fix tariffs for different agencies involved in airport operations and management, will be introduced in the budget session of Parliament next year.
GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) is unlikely to post profit in the near future even after the proposed hike in the user development fee (UDF) from Rs 340 to Rs 420 for domestic passengers and from Rs 907 to Rs 1,656 for international passengers, effective November 1.
Rivals say the concessions would benefit AirAsia alone.
It has been lowered to 'IND BBB+' from 'IND A-', besides placing the rating on 'Rating Watch Negative' (RWN).
'That refresh programme -- because they are big aircraft and we cannot ground them all at the same time -- will last well into 2027.'
GMR Group-led DIAL, which manages and operates India's largest airport, recently requested the AERA to double the user development fee (UDF) for international business and first-class travellers compared to economy and premium economy over the next four years. It has also sought higher UDF for all domestic passengers flying during peak hours -- 5 am-8:55 am and 5 pm-8:55 pm.
Lok Sabha on Thursday passed two bills before the proceedings were adjourned for the day amid continuous protests by opposition members over the Pegasus spying row and farmers' issue.
'But this Budget alone will not fix what ails the Indian economy.'
The government has made clear that the Airports Authority of India will closely monitor the cost of airports built through the PPP route.
Parliament on Tuesday cleared a Bill to remove legal hurdles that were coming in the way of appointing former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chief Nripendra Misra as principal secretary to the prime minister amid strong opposition by Congress.
The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority has turned down Bengaluru International Airport Ltd's (BIAL) proposal to increase User Development Fee (UDF) by 239 per cent for domestic and 79 per cent for international departing passengers from the airport.
Private airports are much better but because of poor regulation, the tariffs have shot up.
Under the hybrid-till model, a portion of non-aeronautical revenue (commercial revenue) at the airport is taken into consideration while fixing the landing and parking charges, user fees and other aeronautical charges.
Govt to scrap 8 appellate tribunals; National Company Law Appellate Tribunal to take over Competition Appellate Tribunal's duties
The airport operator currently levies a development fee of Rs 600 from an international passenger and Rs 100 from a domestic traveller.
Inter-ministerial group to meet on Thursday to finalise model concession pact.
Merging tribunals may lead to administrative convenience, but pendency of cases is likely to increase
'As part of our D33 strategy, the plan is to establish 30 unicorns in Dubai within the next 10 years.'
A ministry's internal note proposes caps on minimum and maximum fares airlines can charge, keeping in mind their cost structure, profit margin and ensuring the last minute fares are not out of bounds of passengers.
With fewer passengers airlines bracing for a rise in operating costs due to a spike in crude prices
Pusapati was given detailed presentations on various aspects of the sector by senior officials of the Ministry.
There is no reason for keeping an entire ministry with a total staff strength of 2,300, just for the oversight of a few aviation sector laws and regulatory bodies, notes A K Bhattacharya.
Indian airlines are expected to post a consolidated loss of $4.1 billion this fiscal, similar to what they are estimated to have incurred in 2020-21, taking the total losses of two years to around $8 billion as a result of the pandemic so far, aviation consultancy and research firm CAPA said on Thursday. In a report, CAPA expects domestic passenger traffic to be around 80-95 million in 2021-22 as against 52.5 million in the previous financial year. However, despite this growth, it will be well below than around 140 million passenger volumes recorded in 2019-20, CAPA said in the report. This projection of the traffic volume does not take into account the anticipated third wave of the pandemic, it added.
Moving from pricing control to a free market means stiff competition.
With six airports handed over to the Adani group for 50 years, the government is now all set to hand over another 25 airports to private players in a bid to 'monetise' them. Official figures reveal that since 2017-18, the government has spent and will be spending Rs 14,500 crore on significantly revamping infrastructure at most of these airports before handing them over to private players. The Airports Authority of India (AAI), which operates these airports for the government, has spent billions of rupees in building new terminal buildings, runways, reinforcing taxiways, upgrading aircraft landing systems, radars and a host of other heavy duty and capital intensive infrastructure works.
The department of investment and public asset management (Dipam) can also seek in-principle approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for strategic divestment of PSUs on a case-to-case basis considering investor appetite and sectoral trends.
'Modi knows the people here are opposed to this project, but he is using the might of government to push this port down our throats.'
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