The Airports Authority of India (AAI) raised Rs 380 crore till September this year through short loans for funding various development projects but the borrowings will not lead to increase in passenger fares, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
"The Airports Authority of India has proposed to raise Rs 2,000 crore in the budget estimate for the current financial year to meet its requirement of funds for development of airport infrastructure in the country," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in a written reply.
He said the borrowings by the AAI, to meet its funds requirement, will not cast any burden on passenger fares.
The Civil Aviation Minister also informed the Upper House that out of 125 AAI-managed airports across the nation, only 15 were making profits.
The AAI, however, was in the process of exploiting new avenues to increase non-traffic revenues, which include introduction of the concept of master concessionaires at major airports by bunching contracts, allowing it not only to increase its revenue but also enable easy monitoring.