MUMBAI: Coming in to land for the first time at Hyderabad’s new Rajiv Gandhi airport at Shamsabad, Captain Gandhi, commander of Kingfisher Airlines flight IT 9009, says it is ‘a pilot’s dream’.

The airport, located 30 km away from the city centre, has none of the typical obstructions that pilots have to face at other large cities. It is also a contrast to the current airport at Begumpet, which has gained notoriety in the aviation industry for a huge number of bird-hits. Mr Gandhi was conducting the first test flight to the airport to try out the navigation aids, ahead of its inauguration next month.

An hour later, the Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Reddy added more gloss to the airport by announcing that he would cut sales tax on aviation fuel from 33% to 4%. The cut in sales tax would make for a substantial saving (Rs 10,000 per kg) for airlines uplifting fuel from the state. Both airlines and aviation minister Praful Patel have been asking states to cut tax rates to help airlines improve margins.

The decision would cause a Rs 60-crore loss to the state, Mr Reddy said. All airlines will move from the current airport to the new one on March 16.

Also speaking on the occasion, Mr Patel said that the state would surely make up for the revenue loss by the increased amount of business that would come its way and also the huge spinoff that comes with the healthy growth in the aviation and the travel industry. The minister had earlier told representatives from all states to stop looking at “aviation as a milch cow.”

Mr Patel also said that he would soon make public an airport infrastructure policy that would make investments in airport projects much easier. Commenting on the much debated issue of airport companies’ plans to levy user development fees on passengers, he said no new infrastructure can be built free.

“Just as we have accepted that we pay toll for new roads, we will also have to adjust to paying for new aviation infrastructure,” he said. However, he said that the fee should be proportional to the distance travelled and cannot be the same irrespective of destination.

It is still not clear how much the GHIAL (GMR Hyderabad International Airport) will charge domestic and international passengers, when the airport opens for business. All airlines will move from the current airport to the new one on March 16.

The government is also planning to upgrade other airports in the state, particularly at Vizag and Rajamundhry, to help the oil and gas industry, Mr Patel said. Night landing facilities are being provided at Rajamundhry, he said.
source: The Economic Times

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