DIAL wants airport fee now, airlines seek time

The Delhi airport management is getting ready to start collecting airport development fees from December 1 but airlines have put their foot down on collecting this money from passengers who have already purchased tickets for travel on or after December 1. They are asking for the date to be pushed back by at least two months to February 1.

In a meeting with Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd (DIAL) on Friday, airlines said the collection of ADF was not their responsibility and that unless DIAL paid them Rs 50 per passenger, they would not take on "the management's dirty work" as per a report in TOI by Neha Lalchandani.

Airline officials said the proposal to extend the period for charging ADF was cleared only on November 15 and it did not give them sufficient time to either warn passengers or bring about necessary changes in their ticketing system.

"Airports Economic Regulatory Authority permitted DIAL to restart charging Rs 1,300 from each international passenger and Rs 200 from each domestic passenger less than a fortnight ago. We are looking at peak holiday travel time and a lot of bookings have already been done," said a senior airline official.

"If ADF collection starts from December 1, we will have to take this money from passengers at check-in counters which is a logistical nightmare. The money has to go to DIAL so it is just fair that they pay us for our services. This is only cost recovery and we will not make any profit from it," he added. Till earlier this year, before DIAL had to discontinue charging ADF due to a high court order, it had been paying airlines Rs 5 per passenger.

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