Delhi Airport to levy baggage screening charges from February 1

To purchase the equipment, DIAL had spent Rs 119.66 crore from the passenger service fee (PSF) fund and Rs 2.23 crore from its own funds.

In what could help the airport operator cover its charges for acquiring baggage screening equipment, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) has allowed Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) to levy an x-ray baggage charge, ranging from Rs 110 to Rs 880 per aircraft flying on domestic routes and from $149.33 to $209.55 on international flights, effective February 1.

To purchase the equipment, DIAL had spent Rs 119.66 crore from the passenger service fee (PSF) fund and Rs 2.23 crore from its own funds. However, in 2014, the Civil Aviation Ministry had directed that proceeds from PSF fund’s security component could only be used for expenditure on deployment of CISF and other security forces at airports and not for capital expenditure. DIAL was therefore directed to reimburse the amount taken from PSF fund.

However, the airport operator obtained a stay against reversal of PSF funds utilised for capital expenditure, including purchase of equipment.

For it to be able to recover the costs for the equipment, AERA has permitted DIAL — a consortium owned majority by GMR Group — to levy the baggage screening charges.

Usually, while the screening cabin baggage and passenger frisking is conducted by commandos of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the loaded luggage is checked by the airport operator.

The impact of the new levy is expected to be nominal on the passengers. If the airlines decide to pass on the charges to their customers, domestic flyers will need to pay a maximum of Rs 5 per ticket when flying out of Delhi, while for international flyers, the levy amounts to a maximum of Rs 50 per ticket.