Air Passengers from Delhi to pay additional fee from March 1

September 29th, 2009 KOLKATA - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday stepped in to bail out some of the passengers stranded due to the Air India pilots' strike. She arranged for special trains on various routes and asked union Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy to run an additional service of the Shipping Corporation of India Wednesday to bring back the air passengers stranded in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

September 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A group of five-six armed robbers looted passengers on a train headed to Delhi of cash, jewellery and other valuables in the suburbs of the national capital Monday. Police said they had found "definitive" clues and would arrest the robbers soon.

September 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - National carrier Air India Tuesday said it had both aircraft and crew on stand-by for immediate deployment should Jet Airways be forced to cancel more flights in the coming days. We are in talks with the government and Jet Airways officials, Air India spokesperson Jitendra Bhargava said.

August 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the imposition of airport development fee (ADF) on passengers by the airport service providers. The Ministry of Civil Aviation directed the all airlines flying out of Delhi to collect a development fee from the passengers while issuing tickets from March this year.

March 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The country's airports operator, Airports Authority of India (AAI), Friday said airline operators owe it Rs.11 billion (Rs.1,100 crore), of which Air India alone has to pay RS.7 billion (Rs.700 crore). 'We are in the process of settling this issue with the airlines.

March 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The international airports at Chennai, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram, Goa and Ahmedabad will soon get the government's nod to levy development fee on passengers to raise funds for their expansion, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said Thursday. 'We are doing this to bridge the capital funding gap.

March 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Monday asked all airlines flying out of Delhi to collect development fee from the passengers while issuing air tickets, and not when they are checking in at the airport. 'The development fee should then be remitted to DIAL (Delhi International Airport Ltd, the developer of Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport) in line with the system procedure,' a statement issued by the civil aviation ministry said.

February 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Friday approved the levying of a development fee on passengers flying out of Mumbai airport, who will have to pay Rs.100 per trip for domestic flights and Rs.600 for flights abroad. The approval comes after a Feb 9 decision for passengers flying out of Delhi.

February 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Defending the government's decision to levy surcharge on passengers at the Delhi airport, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel Thursday said 'airports of certain scale' being developed by the Airports Authority of India could also do the same. 'This should be taken in the right spirit.

February 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel will Thursday inaugurate a new departure terminal at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here which will be able to handle all outbound domestic passengers, an official said. However, the terminal, 1D, set up at an investment of Rs.5 billion (Rs.500 crore), will be opened for passengers only by March-end, said the official of the Delhi International Airport Ltd, which runs the IGI Airport.

February 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A new departure terminal at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, which will be able to handle all outbound domestic passengers, will be operational by March-end, officials said. The new terminal, 1D, set up at an investment of Rs.5 billion (Rs.500 crore), will be inaugurated Thursday, but will be opened for passengers only by March-end, said an official of Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which runs the IGI Airport.

February 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government is likely to allow Mumbai's airport developer to charge an additional fee from passengers to help it bridge its development fund deficit, a senior official said Wednesday. It had recently allowed the airport developer in the national capital to charge a similar fee.

February 9th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Tuesday asked the government to reverse its decision to allow the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) to charge 'development fees' from passengers. The government announced Monday that DIAL would charge from March Rs.200 from domestic passengers and Rs.1,300 from international passengers due to the company's inability to raise money from lenders and the market.

February 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Monday approved additional fee of Rs.200 on all domestic passengers and Rs.1,300 per head on those going abroad from the airport in the national capital as access development charges to its developer. The development fee will be paid to the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which has the Bangalore-based infrastructure major GMR and the state-run Airports Authority of India as principal promoters.

January 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Airfares are all set to go up once again as the government is close to working out the airport development fee (ADF) charges - an additional fee for outgoing passengers - at Delhi and Mumbai airports, a government official said Tuesday. 'The ADF charges are being worked out and should be in place by early next month,' a senior official of the civil aviation ministry said.