New Airports for Increased Air Traffic Government of India (GoI) has granted "in principle" approval for setting up of 15 Greenfield airports in the country namely, Mopa in Goa, Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Bijapur, Gulbarga, Hasan and Shimoga in Karnataka, Kannur and Aranmula in Kerala, Durgapur in West Bengal, Dabra in Madhya Pradesh, Pakyong in Sikkim, Karaikal in Pudducherry and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh. Further, GoI has laid down Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) with a view to achieve better regulation of air transport services taking into account the need for air transport services of different regions of the country. It is, however, up to the airlines to provide air services to specific places depending upon the traffic demand and commercial viability. As such, the airlines are free to operate anywhere in the country subject to compliance of RDG issued by the Government. Presently, airlines are operating to/from 76 airports in the country including major cities. GoI has set up an independent regulatory body, namely, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) to determine the tariff for aeronautical services provided at major airports in the country. Further, the fuel charges are levied by the airlines as a part of total airfare on account of cost of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) and other relevant factors essential for airline operations. Concerned State Governments are responsible for rationalization of ATF pricing. This information was given by Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
