Airlines oppose proposed hike in airport charges

Airlines oppose proposed hike in airport chargesAirlines oppose proposed hike in airport chargesInternational as well as domestic carriers on Thursday aggressively opposed the Airports Authority of India’s proposal to hike the landing charges at Chennai airport.

The AAI intends to increase landing charges at the Anna International Airport for both international and domestic airline by 118 per cent and 48 per cent respectively starting 1st of November.

Starting 2013-14, there would be a 6 per cent annual rise each tariff year on landing, housing, parking as well as UDF.

German carrier Lufthansa, which operates flights between Chennai and Frankfurt, described the proposal as “unreasonable,” and added that it would have a strong negative effect on the aviation sector.

A spokesperson for Lufthansa, said, “In the interest of our Indian customers and the future joint success of the Chennai-Frankfurt route, we urge the responsible management of Chennai International Airport to reconsider the move.”

Other international carriers, such as Virgin Atlantic, Singapore Airlines and British Airways, also expressed their disappointment on the plan to hike charges at the airport.

Earlier this week, Christopher Fordyce, regional commercial manager for South Asia business of British Airways, said that they were reviewing the company’s operations strategy in India in the wake of 334 per cent increase in charges at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport.