SINGAPORE - From April, passengers transferring and transiting at Changi Airport will - for the first time - have to pay service and security charges.
The $12 fee in total would affect about three in 10 passengers at the airport.
A fee hike is also in store for those departing from Changi's Budget Terminal, which handled 1.5 million passenger departures last year. They will have to pay $18 instead of $15 now.
For the airlines, landing charges at Changi will also be raised, adding 15 per cent on average to their landing, parking and aerobridge bill - moves that have sparked some concerns over the competitiveness of Singapore as an air hub.
The Changi Airport Group (CAG) said yesterday the fee revisions comply with the regulatory framework governing its operations and are "necessary to recover part of its aeronautical costs", which remain "heavily subsidised" by its non-aeronautical businesses.
The CAG consulted airlines carrying more than 75 per cent of Changi's passenger traffic. But the International Air Transport Association (Iata), which represents some 230 airlines worldwide, criticised the "limited consultation".
Said an Iata spokesman: "There's no justification for this increase. We had hoped that corporatisation would lead to increased focus on cost-efficiencies and the benefits would be shared with the users." LINK
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