Double trouble

BIAL is levying two charges instead of one

Double trouble

BIAL is levying two charges instead of one

Here's what you pay every time you fly
>>Passenger Service Fee: Rs 220
>>User Development Fee: Rs 1,070 (intl) and Rs 260 (domestic)

Bangalore International Airport (BIA) is charging you for a single service twice.

Flyers pay a passenger service fee (PSF) as part of the air ticket for facilities and amenities. They also pay an extra user development fee (UDF) for the same thing.

Marcel Hungerbuehler, CEO, Bangalore International Airport Limited, said in an email that there was nothing wrong with levying UDF.

The only problem is that BIAL had declared in the concession agreement that the airport charges would be consistent with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) policy. And that policy does not endorse a UDF.

The ICAO policy says airports must depend only on 'non-aeronautical' revenue sources for development.

But Hungerbuehler says UDF is an aeronautical revenue source "for recovering the investment while it also funds the development, management and maintenance" of the airport.

He also said that passengers paid a UDF the world over and the only difference was that it was called a passenger fee. However, he does not explain the double levy.

A case relating to the issue is pending in court.

'Gross violation'

"We have moved court on the issue," said B C Thiru Vengadam, counsel for Airports Authorities of India Employees' Union that has petitioned against the double levy. "The petition is merged with the main petition arguing for re-opening of the HAL airport."

Levying UDF, especially on domestic passengers, was a gross violation of the very policy on which the airport was built, he argued.

"According to the policy, they cannot collect UDF for development," said Vengadam. "While they are collecting PSF for facilities and amenities, what is the need for UDF?"

'Illegal'

G R Mohan, a lawyer fighting for the re-opening of HAL airport, said, " UDF levied by BIA is illegal because only airports run by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) can levy the fee according to the AAI Act."

V Ravichandran, MD, Feedback Consulting, who spearheaded the civic agitation for re-opening HAL airport, said, "Leaving all the technicalities behind, the need of the hour is to bring down the flying cost because the given economic situation is driving away passengers from airports. And with this sort of double levies, civil aviation will go to the dogs."

Your cash in their pocket
Here are the figures:
>>Some 9.71 lakh international passengers and 39.85 lakh domestic passengers have used the airport between May 2008, when it opened, and December 2008.
>>Going by these numbers, 8 million domestic passengers use the airport a year, out of which 4 million are outbound (approximately half the total traffic).
>>UDF on domestic passengers is being levied from January 16, 2009. That averages to 3.33 lakh outbound domestic passengers per month. That means UDF has been levied on about 10 lakh domestic passengers so far.

Thus, the airport will have collected about Rs 26 crore by way of UDF, in addition to about
Rs 73.26 crore as PSF.

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