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Journalism of Courage
Giving a big push to reforms, the Civil Aviation Ministry has decided to bring down landing charges by 15 per cent for domestic flights and completely waive it for smaller aircraft with a seating capacity below 80. This move is expected to bring airfares down, attract more passengers and increase air connectivity in some sectors.
However, the Ministry has attached a rider stating that the operator will have to make the payment within a fortnight. In case the airline operator would exceed the credit period, it will have to pay according to existing rates.
Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said these initiatives were part of the Government’s efforts to make air travel more affordable. ‘‘We hope the domestic airline operator translates this benefit to the passenger in the form of cheaper tickets as soon as possible. This will go a long way in bringing air travel within the reach of the common man, which is the vision of our Prime Minister.’’
The revision, officials said, is in tune with the recommendations of the Naresh Chandra Committee’s report on civil aviation reforms. The committee had observed that the airport charges in India are 78 per cent higher than the international average and that it ought to be brought down to a level comparable to charges levied at airports across South East Asia and the Gulf countries. The news is particularly encouraging for those operating smaller aircraft below a capacity of 80 seats. The Ministry has decided to waive landing facility charges on these aircraft in an effort to increase domestic air connectivity.
Here again, the Naresh Chandra Committee had proposed a range of concessions for these aircraft, which included reduction in landing fees for these planes. Officials said the broader Government policy is to promote operations by these aircraft, particularly in sectors where the passenger traffic may not be high but connectivity is needed. Moreover, this is expected to make air travel more affordable to the common man.
In another step aimed at promoting small aircraft operations, the Ministry has decided to implement a drastic cut in route, navigational and facilitation charges (RNFC). The Airports Authority of India had introduced a new mathematical equation called the weight-cum-distance formula to calculate RNFC. This was done in tune with recommendations of the International Air Transpoter’s Association. But while this lend uniformity to charges which benefited long-distance aircraft, particularly foreign carriers, it resulted in an exponential increase for smaller aircraft travelling short distances.
The Ministry has now decided to reduce this for aircraft weighing up to 20,000 kg. In the two slabs approved today, aircraft weighing 500 kg-10,000 kg will have to pay only 20 per cent of the calculated RNFC and planes weighing between 10,001 kg-20,000 kg will pay only 40 per cent of the calculated charges.
