Global airports grouping ACI on Friday urged Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri to consider on a case-by-case basis waiver of concession fee that a private airport operator has to share with the government by concession agreement.
In a letter to Puri in the wake of coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent impact on the aviation industry, Airport Council International (ACI) also sought reduction in airport taxes applied on a per passenger basis, which are are not related to the provision of airport services or to the financing of airport infrastructure development.
"COVID-19 has drastically impacted the airport business and is posing a serious threat to the financial sustainability of the airport industry in the most-affected countries of the Asia-Pacific region," the ACI said in a letter to Puri.
"We recommend that alternative relief measures should be explored to support both the airlines and the airport industries as primary generator of economic and social value for the country.
Earlier, the ACI had said that prolonged duration of the coronavirus outbreak could result in a revenue loss of USD 3 billion for airports in the Asia Pacific region.
It had also urged regulators and governments to implement well-defined adjustments and relief measures tailored to suit local-level contexts.
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Asia-Pacific is suffering the highest impact, with passenger traffic volumes down by 24 per cent for the first quarter of the current year, compared to projected traffic levels without COVID-19, as per ACI World estimates.
Citing the ACI World Airport Traffic Forecasts for 20192040 predicted that USD 12.4 billion revenue for the first quarter in the Asia-Pacific region in the "business as usual" scenario, the ACI-APAC said in a release.
"The impact of COVID-19 is projected to have a revenue loss of USD 3 billion," it said.
The ACI in the letter to Puri also urged the government explore similar relief measures, as that for the private airports, for publicly owned ones to ensure a level playing field in the domestic airport business.