Airport Economic Regulatory Authority

Airport Economic Regulatory Authority Latest News

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) recently directed the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) to give a detailed reply in writing on the criteria used to calculate User Development Fee (UDF) charged by airport operators, the total revenue earned and and how it is utilised among other things.

About Airport Economic Regulatory Authority

• AERA is a statutory body constituted under the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008.
• It was set up on the recommendations of the Naresh Chandra Committee to prepare the road map for the civil aviation sector.
• AERA is an independent regulatory body tasked with overseeing the economic regulation of major airports in India.
• Headquarters: Delhi
• Function: The AERA regulates tariffs and other charges (development fee and passenger service fee) for aeronautical services (air traffic management, landing, and parking of aircraft, ground handling services) at major airports.
  • For the remaining airports, tariffs are determined by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
• Its main objectives include creating a level playing field, fostering healthy competition among major airports, promoting investment in airport facilities, and regulating tariffs for aeronautical services.
• It was set up keeping in mind that the country needs to have an independent regulator who has transparent rules and can take care of the interests of the service providers as well as those of the consumers.
• Major Airports:
  • The 2008 Act designates an airport as a major airport if it has an annual passenger traffic of at least 15 lakhs.
  • An amendment to the act in 2019 increased this threshold to 35 lakh annual passengers.

Source: TH

Airport Economic Regulatory Authority FAQs

Q1. Which ministry is responsible for airport economic regulatory authority (AERA)?

Ans. The Ministry of Civil Aviation is responsible for AERA.

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Q2. Who controls AAI?

Ans. AAI is managed by a Board of Members appointed by the Central Government under Section 3 of the AAI Act.

Q3. Who is the chairman of AERA?

Ans. S. K. G. Rahate (Retd IAS: 1990: JH) was appointed as Chairperson, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) for a tenure of three years.

Q4. What is the AERA in aviation?

Ans. Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) is a regulatory agency under Government of India to regulate tariff and other expenditure and fees for major airports.