Days ahead of the Union Budget, government said on Monday it was considering imposing a cess on air travel in order to fund development of non-viable airports and air routes.
"We are proposing in future to have a cess to support viability gap funding for development of non-viable airports and air routes," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told reporters in New Delhi on the sidelines of a conference on infrastructure.
The minister, however, clarified the proposal was at a very nascent stage although the government was actively working on it. "What we are trying is to either redefine the existing passenger service fee or have an additional levy. There may be a change
in the nomenclature," he said.
The Naresh Chandra Committee has already recommended such a cess, though its quantum was yet to be decided as also the timeframe, he said. The minister said the much-awaited Airport Economic Regulatory Authority Bill was likely to be tabled in the coming Budget session of Parliament.
"There were differences on various matters but everything has been resolved, including the issue of defence enclaves," he added.
Observing that a regulator was essential for areas where public private partnerships were working, the minister allayed fears that formation of an industry body by the airlines (Federation of Indian Airlines) would not lead to cartelisation.