International airlines operating flights terminating or passing through London will raise fares due to hike in landing charges at Heathrow, and other airports in UK.Some airlines have also raised fares by $10-20 (Rs 500 to Rs 1,000), while others are in the process of doing so, on account of fuel surcharge in the wake of rising oil prices.European flights will have a one-way fuel surcharge of $5 additional to tickets on account of soaring oil prices. Fares on inter-continental services will see a $10 surcharge imposed on each one way flight. Most airlines including Emirates and Cathay Pacific have communicated to their general sales agents the levy of fuel surcharge on tickets. In the case of Emirates Airlines, it is Rs 480 per ticket one way ($10) and $20 on return flights to be levied from March 16. Some increases have been built in the taxes to be paid by passengers. “International air fares may go up further from April, which is also the lean season, in case of an outbreak of war in Iraq,” STIC Travels chairman Subhash Goyal said. “It will be difficult to pass on further increases as passenger load factors will start going down in April,” an official with a leading travel agency stated. The UK Civil Aviation Authority has recently given a green signal to British Airport Authority to increase landing charges by 9% at Heathrow and other airports which can be further increased by 5.6%above inflation rates in the following four years.Under the proposal, Heathrow may charge around $10.04 per passenger for 2003, compared to the existing $8.68, and increase it each year at inflation rate plus 6.5% until 2008. These increases would help to pay for future airport infrastructure investment. In total, the airlines would be asked to pay 40% additional costs on top of inflation. Such costs would inevitably have to be paid for by passengers through higher fares.According to a release, airlines have opposed the landing charges as the proposed increases are counter-productive to the effort the airlines are making toward stabilisation and recovery. International Air Travel Association (IATA) is dead set against increased Heathrow charges: “The proposed increases are excessive and unacceptable to the airlines, especially now when they are just starting to get back on their feet.The idea of paying today to use the airport in future is absurd,” said IATA chief Giovanni Bisignani,.“Air transport is going through one of the worst crises in its hundred year history. The airlines should not be expected to pre-fund an airport’s investment, nor should their passengers be asked to pay now for future services they may never use.
