The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : “Scrap redundant surcharges to make air travel cheaper”

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 03, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

“Scrap redundant surcharges to make air travel cheaper”

Staff Reporter

“Airlines should reduce fares in line with fall in Aviation Turbine Fuel prices”
“Passengers must be told clearly what each additional charge is for”

CHENNAI: Flying should be made cheaper by scrapping redundant surcharges, according to D. Sudhakara Reddy, founder and president, Air Passengers Association of India (APAI).

Airlines should reduce fares in line with the fall in the prices of Aviation Turbine Fuel, he said. The cost of fuel on December 1, 2008, was less than what it was on November 2007, but airlines had increased the fuel surcharge from Rs.150 to Rs.3,100. “Passengers must be told clearly what each additional charge is for.”

He was listing the APAI’s recommendations to make air travel passenger-friendly and safer, which were based on a panel discussion ‘Whither-Civil Aviation,’ organised by the association here on Tuesday.

The discussion was attended by Manickam Ramaswami, chairman and managing director, Loyal Textiles Mills, A. Ranganathan, an aviation expert, Vasuki Kalyanasundaram, chairperson, Travel Agents Federation of India, and N.L. Rajah, trustee, Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group.

Mr. Reddy said congestion surcharge should also be scrapped. The charge was levied on all tickets, though only the Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi airports were congested. As the congestion in these airports had eased, he said, there was no justification for the charge.

To govern the aviation industry better, he said, an aviation regulatory authority and an air transport and safety board needed to be established. To prevent cartelisation of airlines, a competitive commission should be in place.

The APAI had come out with recommendations on the passengers’ rights in 2006, based on the European Union guidelines. These, Mr. Reddy said, had to be made into a law. “As consumer courts may take months or even years to process a complaint, if such laws are in place, any grievance of the passenger could get redressed in days.”

Furthermore, “low-cost carriers do not enjoy any genuine benefit,” he said. They should be provided with such incentives as low-landing charges and low taxation. The Civil Aviation Ministry should also continue to use the old airports in Bangalore and Hyderabad, instead of closing them down.

Mr. Reddy said the APAI would take these recommendations to the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Civil Aviation Ministry soon.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu