Flying out of Delhi would
become cheaper from Tuesday, with the development fee (DF) charged by
the operator of IGI airport here being reduced by Rs 100 for domestic
and Rs 700 per international passenger.
The decision of GMR-led
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) to slash the charges followed
a directive by Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) for
charging Rs 100 and Rs 600 per embarking domestic and international
passenger respectively from January 1.
Civil Aviation Minister
Ajit Singh had earlier directed DIAL and Mumbai International Airport
Limited (MIAL) to abolish DF at the two airports with effect from
Tuesday.
Following this, DIAL had moved AERA, which, after
consultations, decided to slash the rate which would remain effective
till April 2016. Till Monday, DF being charged at Delhi airport was Rs
200 and Rs 1300 for domestic and international passengers respectively.
Welcoming
the order, DIAL said in a statement the measure would "enable airlines
to reduce the overall travel cost of passengers, thus giving a boost to
the Indian aviation sector."
In October, the Minister had also
directed Airports Authority of India (AAI) not to levy DF at Chennai and
Kolkata airports, which are being modernized by it.
AAI was also
asked to infuse additional equity of approximately Rs 288 crore in MIAL
and Rs 102 crore in DIAL, against its 26 per cent share in the equity
in them.
In case DF is abolished, the expected financing gap for
MIAL will be estimated at about Rs 4,200 crore and for DIAL at about Rs
1,175 crore.
While DF is levied to meet cash flow requirements
before completion of an airport upgrade project, User Development Fee
(UDF) is charged for using the completed facility. At present, DF is
levied at private-led Delhi and Mumbai airports, among others.
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