FDI won't come to Indian aviation till high costs prevail: IATA chief Tony Tyler
that merely investing fresh capital would not solve the problems of the industry. "It has to be used in a way to improve the business in some way. It can be used to grow the business. If the business is loss-making then some of it needs to be used to restructure."
On the Airport Development Fees (ADF) imposed at Delhi and Mumbai airports which is to be withdrawn from January, Tyler said though the government has taken the right step in ordering withdrawal of ADF, IATA was concerned that the revenue shortfall on this count would have to be offset by raising charges for the airlines.
"We are very against this whole ADF. Of course, we do welcome the fact that the Civil Aviation Ministry is getting involved in this area and instructing Airports Authority of India not to seek ADF in Chennai and Kolkata and also to reduce ADF in Mumbai and Delhi.
"But we are concerned that it will go from one hand to the other. The revenue shortfall from one will be somehow offset by the other by increasing airline charges somewhere else. So we will have to make sure that does not happen."
Tyler said the high airport costs were impacting domestic air traffic which had declined in the recent past.
"The Indian airport costs, let us not kid ourselves, remain a big problem. .... Domestic traffic has been in decline recently. High airport costs have to have something to do with it," he said.
Though this was not the only reason
