High aircraft parking charges at Mumbai flayed

Mumbai, July 13 (IANS) Business aircraft operators Friday decried the sharp hike in parking penalties for planes at Mumbai airport, terming the move as "illegal and beyond jurisdiction" of private airport developers.

According to Business Aircraft Operators Associaton (BAOA), the Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (MIAL) has started levying between Rs.1,000-15,000 per hour compared to Rs.20-70 metric tonne per hour charged by the Airports Authority of India.

BAOA president Rohit Kapur said the move is "completely unacceptable, illegal and beyond the purview of private airport developers" as the hike has been effected without the sanction of the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority.

He pointed out that it is the duty of the government to create adequate infrastructure for aircraft operations and if the existing facilities are insufficient, no agency can penalize the private operators.

"In fact, we have been urging the government to create the needed infrastructure in terms of parking space, separate terminals and hangars since many years, but to no avail," Kapur said.

Referring to MIAL, Kapur claimed that there was parking space available in the Lima bay at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Aiport which is lying waste.

He suggested that it could be utilised for parking private business aircraft and if needed, MIAL could create temporary taxiways to make the bays accessible.

Since July 2, MIAL had imposed penal charges on overstaying of private jets which are registered outside Mumbai.