Supreme Court has struck down the airport development fee (ADF) being charged by private operators. As per IANS reports, an apex court bench of Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice A.K. Patnaik overruled the ADF, which had been challenged by NGO Consumer Online Foundation.
As a result, tickets are likely to become cheaper by Rs.200 for domestic travellers and Rs.1,300 for international passengers boarding from Delhi. Similarly, tickets from the Mumbai airport are also likely to become cheaper by Rs.100 for domestic and Rs.600 per international passenger.
The Supreme court, through its judgment, struck down the verdict of the Delhi High Court which had rejected the NGO's petition challenging the ADF being charged by the private operators of the international airports in these cities.
The fee is collected by all the airlines operating from Delhi and Mumbai from each departing domestic and international passenger. In turn, the airlines get a collection charge of Rs.5 per passenger.
Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi had said in March that a proposal to review the development fee at Delhi and Mumbai airports has been received.
'The proposal for review of development fee at IGI Airport, New Delhi and CSI Airport Mumbai, has recently been received by AERA (Airports Economic Regulatory Authority),' Ravi had told the Lok Sabha during parliament's budget session.
He further said that the fee is a pre-funding mechanism for financing mega-airport projects like in Delhi and Mumbai when other options are not available.
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