Air Travel Latest Update: As revenue has been hit due to coronavirus pandemic, now flyers from Mumbai – both domestic and international – will have to pay development fee charges for next one year. According to reports, outbound flights from Mumbai — Rs 120 for domestic and Rs 720 for international destinations — will continue till March 31, 2022. The decision on the development fee, however, will be reviewed in December this year. As per updates, the tariff order that was expected to end in March has now been extended by a year as revenue was affected due to coronavirus travel restrictions.
In 2012, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) had allowed Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) to levy a fee of Rs 100 and Rs 600 on each outgoing domestic and international passengers to cover the airport project’s deficit financing of Rs 3,845 crore.
Later, the order was revised in 2016 and an extra Rs 20 for domestic passengers and Rs 120 for international flyers was imposed till March 31, 2021. This was done to help collect Rs 518 crore to finance the metro works in the city.
Keeping in mind the revenue crisis in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the AERA in an order last week said the Mumbai airport authority requested an extension due to shortfall in the collection of both the levies. The Airports Authority of India (AAI), however, confirmed that as on March 31, 2020, Rs 524.6 crore are yet to be collected under project DF, and, a deficit of Rs 102.7 crore is to be collected under metro DF.
The order noted that the number of domestic and international fell by 76.4 per cent and 91.9 per cent between April 2020 and January 2021a and stated that the deficit will unable to be met by March 31.
In the meantime, Maharashtra on Monday recorded 31,643 fresh coronavirus infections, taking the overall tally to 27,45,518. With 102 fatalities, the death toll in the state went up to 54,283.
Thane city neighbouring Mumbai reported 1,010 fresh cases while 934 infections were added in the limits of the Kalyan Dombivali municipal corporation. Pune city and neighbouring Pimpri Chinchwad township reported 2,554 and 1,481 new cases, respectively, taking the tally to 2,69,429 in the Pune corporation area and to1,31,675 in the Pimpri Chinchwad area.