Bangkok blasted for airport charges
VANCOUVER – Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi Airport has been singled out as one of the worst offenders for making excessive profits from charges to airlines.
IATA CEO Giovanni Bisignani claimed that along with Bangkok, both London and Paris were serial offenders for imposing over-the-top airport landing and parking charges.
“Combined they grabbed US$1.4bn in increases from the industry in 2006. This is outrageous and I will continue to embarrass them with figures and facts,” said Bisignani.
The IATA chief claims that there is a long list of airports with margins of more than 40% including Sydney, Auckland, Hong Kong, Seoul and Johannesburg.
“Airlines live in a competitive world and commercial discipline is our regulator. Airport regulators are phantoms,” Bisignani said.
Last year, airports around the world added US$1.97 billion to airlines’ bills.
“Look at the financial results of airports. Clearly, it’s a dream world for them but a nightmare for airlines that pay the bills,” said Bisignani.
IATA has battled with the Airport Authority of Thailand (AoT) to prevent the “unjustified” 15% rise in landing and parking charges, which took effect in April this year.
Thailand’s Transport Ministry and AoT have ignored IATA’s repeated calls by arguing that despite the increase, the landing and parking fees at the Thai airport were still lower than at other leading airports in Asia.
In a separate issue, King Power International has filed two civil lawsuits against Airports of Thailand, seeking compensation for dumping its exclusive contracts to run duty-free shops and the commercial area at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
AOT withdrew King Power’s concessions, which also include the Hat Yai and Phuket international airports, on April 5 on the grounds that they breached the Public/Private Joint Venture Act.
King Power was also told that its extension of the commercial area at Suvarnabhumi had caused damage to the airport and was not in line with international standards and resulted in security problems. It was ordered to remove its structures from the airport.
The King Power contracts were signed during the administration of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Ian Jarrett
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