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Palaly airport tax double that of BIA: Minister calls for report
Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Prasanna Ranatunga has called for a report from airport and aviation officials to look into the possibility of reducing the airport tax at the Palaly International Airport (PIA).
This follows Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Douglas Devananda raising the matter at the New Year’s first Cabinet meeting held on Thursday.
Mr Devananda told the Cabinet he had received several complaints from passengers travelling regularly between Jaffna and South Indian capitals that the embarkation charge at Palaly was much higher than what passengers paid at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).
Normally, an embarkation fee of Rs 6,000 is charged from a passenger flying through the BIA. However, passengers using the Palaly airport have to pay an additional Rs 6,000 embarkation fee, meaning they are charged twice as much as what is charged at the BIA.
A return ticket between Colombo and Chennai is only Rs 22,000, inclusive of the embarkation charge, when one flies from the BIA. However, Palaly travellers have to pay Rs 28,000 for a return ticket.
In addition, passengers between Jaffna and Chennai are only allowed a baggage allowance of 15 kilograms whereas those flying between Colombo and Chennai are allowed to carry 30 kilograms.
“We are concerned about these issues. These decisions were not made by us. However, we will give relief within one month to Palaly passengers,” Minister Ranatunga said.