Airport authorities are defending their decision to levy new fees from passengers, a step which travel agents say will negatively affect their business. Amirah Ibrahim reports Beginning January 2007, airlines operating in Egypt started levying extra fees for airport services in the country, as demanded by aviation authorities. Travel agents who opposed the action had warned that imposing departure fees could discourage tourism. The new fees, estimated at $15 for international flights and $7 for domestic routes, were applied to regular flights only. Charter flights saw a $3 increase this month, but in May another $4 will be added, and by November another $4 will be levied. These figures, added to the current $4 fee, will also add up to $15. Airport authorities insisted that service fees at Egyptian airports will still remain lower than at the majority of international airports in Europe and the Middle East. "All international aviation associations recognise the right of airports to recover the value of their investments, at minimum the cost of the services provided," said Ibrahim Manna', Chairman of the Holding Company for Egyptian Airports. "Airports all over the world apply around 24 types of fees which are monitored and approved by the world's prominent aviation organisations." Manna' cited that at London's Heathrow Airport, authorities collect a departure fee of $38. Already, since 2001 the private sector administrators of the Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) Marsa Alam airport have been collecting $15 as a departure fee "without objections from any quarters," according to the airports chief. "Why are there complaints now that we are talking about state-owned airports where the government invests much more money?" Manna' defended the move by saying that the new fees will bring revenues of about $90-$100 million this year alone. Egyptian airports receive around 25 million passengers every year, 80 per cent of whom are travelling on international flights. As the full fees are gradually levied on all flights, an estimated $120-$150 million in revenues is expected every year. Manna' noted that Egyptian airports achieved a growth rate of seven per cent in 2006 with much promise for larger profits. This would allow for more expansion and development projects at airports around the country, maintaining Egypt's aviation edge in the region.
