Delhi International Airport is said to be one of the most expensive in the world following a hike in tariff fees last May. Airlines try now to fight it and warn that some Indian carriers will not survive Delhi International Airport’s move.
DELHI- Early July, airlines went to the Delhi High Court to seek legal intervention against a 345% hike implemented by the authority of New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). According to airlines and the International Air Transport Association IATA, Delhi has now turned into the most expensive airport in India, if not of the world. The petition from the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) was officially given to the high court on July 10. They justify their claim for illegal hike in fees without conducting an independent audit on the consequences of this move and without any consultation. In their petition, airlines also stress that some of them might disappear following the three-fold increase.
Delhi International Airport (DIAL) however sent in June a letter to IATA to justify the hike and defend itself against IATA accusations. In his letter to IATA CEO Tony Tyler, DIAL Chief Finance Officer Siddhartha Kapur said “we do not agree with this statement as it doesn’t reflect the actual state of affairs.”
Quoting the report of consultancy firm Leigh Fisher India Pvt Ltd, formerly known as Jacobs Consultancy he said “charges for domestic passengers at the Delhi airport, after the fee revision, continue to be the lowest among competitors across the globe”. DIAL Chief highlighted that “airport charges of Indian airports have not been increased during the last decade, except by a nominal 10 % in 2009, and were “historically low”.
“Even with the Airport Development Fee (ADF), which is a pre-funding for a limited period of time, Delhi airport is not the highest in all segment except long haul international segment,” Kapur said. “The domestic charges at the airport post-revision continue to be the lowest among world airport operators,” he added.
Of total passengers at Delhi, 69% of all passengers were on domestic flights last year. Airlines still believe however that the hike will definitely damage Delhi’s reputation as a new Asian hub.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
