The Civil Aviation Ministry issued a notification declaring the airport of Srinagar as a major airport under the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority Act, 2008….reports Asian Lite News
In a significant development, the Centre on Saturday declared Srinagar international airport as a major airport.
The Civil Aviation Ministry issued a notification declaring the airport of Srinagar as a major airport under the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority Act, 2008.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (i) of section 2 of the Airports Economic Authority Act, 2008 (NO. 27 OF 2008), the Central government hereby declares the airport of Srinagar as major airport”, says the notification.
With this move, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) will determine tariff for aeronautical services at Srinagar airport.
As per Section 13 of the Act, the AERA has been mandated to determine the tariff for the aeronautical services rendered at major airports – the amount of the development fees including user development fee and the amount of the passengers service fee levied under Rule 88 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 made under the Aircraft Act, 1934.
Under the AERA, the Centre can designate an airport as a major airport if it has an annual passenger traffic of at least 35 lakh.
The Central government is also empowered to designate any airport as a major airport through a notification.
For the non-major airports, these tariffs are determined by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which is a body under the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Srinagar-Sharjah flights
Denial of air space by Pakistan won’t affect direct flights between Srinagar and Sharjah, J&K BJP President Ravinder Raina said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters in Srinagar, Raina said flights will continue between Srinagar and Sharjah, the only difference will be that they will take a longer route.
“Some days ago Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Srinagar and inaugurated direct flight between Srinagar and Sharjah, but it is extremely disappointing that Pakistan has closed its airspace proving it is the biggest enemy of people of Kashmir,” Raina said.
“Flight operations will continue. Flights will not use Pakistan’s airspace but take a longer route – from Srinagar to Delhi, Delhi to Mumbai and Mumbai to Sharjah. But Pakistan’s actions and intentions have become clear before the world.”
Pakistan has not allowed the use of its airspace for the Srinagar-Sharjah direct flight inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on October 23.
