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The operator of the Delhi airport, Delhi International Airports Limited (DIAL), has said that it is not the most expensive airport in the world. The statement comes a day after the Director General of International Air Transport Association, Mr Tony Tyler, said that with the latest 346 per cent increase in charges, Delhi was one of the most expensive airports in the world.
“IATA calculates charges for the longest distances, using the heaviest aircraft, and cites it as an example to support its flawed arguments. The reality is that this section of traffic accounts for less than 10 per cent of the traffic at airport,” the airport operator said in a statement. DIAL is a joint consortium of the GMR Group, Airports Authority of India, Frankfurt Airport and Malaysia Airports Holdings, which is developing, operating and managing Delhi airport.
The airport operator points out that IATA includes Airport Development Fee (ADF) as part of charges while it is a pre-funding charge and not considered as tariffs in any logical calculation exercise. “We do not feel the charges have any bearing on the airport’s long-term success,” the statement adds.
DIAL has said that IATA’s claim that the increase in charges will add $400 million to airlines’ operating costs was a huge exaggeration. “Assuming the airlines pass on the entire cost to the passenger (as is normal practice), DIAL’s increased yield (and hence the maximum possible cost to an airline) is Rs 102 per passenger. Considering 39.7 million passengers in 2012-13, the total additional revenue to the airport operator (and hence the total cost to all airlines including those who are not affiliated to IATA) is Rs 405 crore ($73.64 million).”
The airport operator has said that the Government has shown no “flexibility” in addressing the concerns of the airport developer by allowing the imposition of Airport Development Fee. “We protest the insinuation by Mr Tyler. ADF has been permitted by the Government following pre-existing laws of the land. ADF had to be invoked as a last resort gap funding as Airports Authority of India expressed its inability to infuse further equity into DIAL,” the statement adds.
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