Kerala MPs seek review of Thiruvananthapuram airport tariff hike

The Union government must review the “astronomical” tariff hike at Thiruvananthapuram airport as these could hamper the promise of affordable air travel for the citizens of Kerala and also impact the economic growth of the State, two MPs from Left parties in the State have urged the Centre.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader John Brittas and Communist Party of India leader Binoy Viswam, who are both Members of Parliament in Rajya Sabha, have written separate letters to the Minister for Civil Aviation Rammohan Naidu after the airport tariff regulator issued its latest tariff order for Thiruvananthapuram airport owned by Adani Enterprises Limited raising the user development fee paid by passengers as part of the air fare by 50% for the first nine months to Rs 770, followed by further hikes, and other levies imposed on airlines such as landing and parking charges, which come into effect from July 1.

Mr. Brittas has sought a review on the ground that the recent increase has raised apprehensions among passengers and airlines and the government must “safeguard” their interests and protect them from “disproportionate financial strain”.

“The economic repercussions, especially in a post-pandemic recovery phase, could be detrimental to both the aviation sector and the broader economy of the State. The airport of the capital city of the State is given a raw deal thereby hampering its future development and growth,” Mr. Brittas wrote in his letter.

Mr. Viswam has raised concerns on behalf of many expatriate Malayali travellers. In his letter, he wrote that the steep hike in user develeopment fees and landing charges puts a question mark before the Union government’s claims of making air travel affordable for the common people. Incessant privatisation of airports and allied services has only made air travel costlier, he claimed.

“The entry of Adani group in the civil aviation sector was adding difficulties and financial burdens on passengers...and the government decision should be in favour of the ordinary people of Kerala and not one benefitting the Adani group,” the Rajya Sabha member added.

As reported in The Hindu, according to a tariff order issued by the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) on June 21, the user development fee has been raised by 50% from ₹506 to ₹770 for domestic travellers flying out of the airport until March 31, 2025. Thereafter, it will be raised to ₹840 for the financial year 2025-26 and ₹910 for the financial year 2026-27.

The user fee for passengers landing at the airport has also been introduced for the first time both for domestic and international travellers. This fee will be ₹330 for domestic travellers for the first year, followed by a hike of ₹30 every subsequent financial year till 2027. International passengers will pay double the amount paid by domestic passengers.

The landing charges for aircraft have been raised three-fold for the first year from ₹309 to ₹890 per metric tonne (MT) of aircraft weight. This will increase by 4.6 times and 5.5 times for the subsequent financial years with a levy of ₹1,400 per MT and ₹1,650 per MT. Parking charges have also seen an increase.