IATA says hybrid till model for airports will make air travel expensive
International Air Transport Association has said selection of hybrid till model for airport tariff determination in the country will increase airlines’ costs and make air travel expensive. It has also criticised the government for making Airport Economic Regulatory Authority “a toothless entity”.
Despite reservations from airlines and the airport regulator the government finalised the hybrid till model for airports. Under the hybrid-till model, a portion of non-aeronautical revenue (commercial revenue) at the airport is taken into consideration while fixing the landing and parking charges, user fees and other aeronautical charges. Airport owners favour this model over the single-till model, which uses the entire non-aeronautical revenue to offset aeronautical charges.
While the draft policy indicated that tariff at all future airports will be calculated on a hybrid till basis, the final policy states that tariff at all future airports will be calculated on a hybrid till basis causing concern amongst airlines.
IATA said it will approaching the civil aviation ministry to get a clarification on the seemingly minor change in wording, which has a major impact on the airport charges landscape in India.
“We are concerned with the way the policy on hybrid till was written. While the draft policy indicated that ‘tariff at all future airports will be calculated on a hybrid till basis’, the final policy states ‘future tariffs at all airports will be calculated on a hybrid till basis’. This change will impact the basis for tariff determination for private airports in India, and also signal Airport Authority of India to switch from the single-till approach used currently, to the hybrid-till. This makes AERA a toothless entity. Passenger charges in India will increase, making air travel more expensive. And it contradicts one of the stated intentions of the policy to make flying affordable,” said Conrad Clifford, regional vice president, Asia Pacific, IATA, in a statement.
