Rajya Sabha members flag concerns about Thiruvananthapuram airport tariff revisions

     New Delhi, Jun 26 (PTI) Two Rajya Sabha members from Kerala on Wednesday raised concerns about the hike in tariffs for the Thiruvananthapuram international airport and sought the civil aviation ministry's intervention to review the revisions.
     John Brittas (CPI-M) and Binoy Viswam (CPI) have written separate letters to Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu after the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) approved revisions in tariffs, including higher User Development Fee (UDF) and landing charges, for the airport.
     The revised tariffs will be effective from July 1 for the airport, which is managed by Adani Airport Holdings Ltd.
     Brittas has expressed grave concerns over "the recent humongous tariff revisions" at the airport in Kerala's capital.
     He has urged the minister to instruct the concerned authorities to take urgent steps to review these astronomical tariff revisions so as to safeguard the interests of passengers and the airport against disproportionate financial strains.
     According to him, the substantial increases in UDF and other charges will place a heavy burden on passengers and airlines, potentially reducing the accessibility and affordability of air travel for the citizens of southern Kerala and beyond.
     Further, Brittas claimed that the airport operator is looking to extract maximum revenue from passengers by significantly increasing the UDF and other charges as well as underreporting non-operational revenue, which would otherwise help in cross-subsidising passenger fares.
     "Such unscrupulous business practices must be addressed promptly to protect the interests of passengers," he said in the letter.
     Flagging concerns about the tariff revisions, Binoy Viswam sought the minister's intervention to reduce the UDF and landing charges for the airport.
     "The entry of Adani Group in the civil aviation sector is already adding a lot of difficulties and financial burdens on passengers... I expect your decision to be in favour of the thousands of ordinary people of Kerala travelling from the Trivandrum airport and not one benefitting the Adani Group," Viswam said in the letter.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)