New Delhi : A government proposal to levy a 2 per cent cess on domestic and international tickets to fund increased regional connectivity that would have led to a hike in air fares is likely to be dropped.
An indication to this effect was on Wednesday given by Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey who said other means to raise funds for boosting regional air connectivity are being explored after the conclusion of discussions with stakeholders.
The Government in the revised draft policy, unveiled on October 30 last, had proposed 2 per cent levy on all airfares to mop up funds for its regional connectivity scheme.
The proposal has, however, been opposed by various stake holders on the ground that an additional charge would only increase the ticket prices with the global airlines body IATA terming it as “against the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s orms.”
“The manner of raising that resource (funds for Viability Gap Funding) that the draft policy proposes by levying 2 per cent cess is something that we are discussing,” Choubey said.
The government had earlier planned to levy the proposed cess from January this year.
However, it deferred the move due to its failure to finalise the draft civil aviation policy. Regional Connectivity Scheme is one of the thrust areas of the draft policy.
