Airport operators tell Centre airline fee relief no longer warranted

Mumbai: Private airports' association APAO has asked the civil aviation ministry to discontinue reduced landing and parking charges for domestic flights once the three-month period ends on July 6 and allow airport operators to recover the foregone fees from airlines.

In the wake of the West Asia conflict posing operational and financial challenges for the country's airlines, regulator AERA, on April 7, allowed a 25 per cent reduction in landing and parking charges for domestic flights at all major airports for three months.

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The decision was part of larger efforts to provide some kind of relief to the domestic airlines.

Seeking restoration of applicable tariff framework, the Association of Private Airport Operators (APAO) has told the ministry that the relief measure was conceived as an exceptional and time-bound intervention to address a specific set of circumstances.

"Since then, the geopolitical environment has stabilised considerably, and the conditions that necessitated such support have substantially eased.

"In these circumstances, the continuation of the concession beyond the originally stipulated period would no longer be justified," the grouping said in a letter to the ministry last month.

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Airports continue to bear substantial fixed costs and various ongoing investments, APAO said, adding that prolonging the concession would lead to under-recovery of AERA (Airports Economic Regulatory Authority)-approved revenue requirements, impacting financial sustainability and future infrastructure development.

"To address the financial impact of the relief already extended, airport operators may be permitted to deduct the landing fees forgone during the said period... from the revenue share/concession fee payable to respective authority for 2026-27.

"The said amount may thereafter be remitted to such authority, without interest or penalty, upon recovery by the operators through the truing-up mechanism," it said.

APAO represents 16 airport operators, including Delhi and Mumbai, as per its website.