Srinagar International Airport has bee declared as a major Airport by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
A Gazette was issued by the ministry which read, the Central Government declares Srinagar Airport as a major airport in the application of Sub-section (i) of Section 2 of the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008 (No.27 of 2008).
Interestingly, on October 23, Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the first direct international flight between Srinagar and Sharjah and United Arab Emirates (UAE).
With this move, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) will determine tariff for aeronautical services at Srinagar airport.
The Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) was set-up to regulate tariffs and other charges (development fee and passenger service fee) for aeronautical services at major airports.
As per Section 13 of the Act, AERA has been mandated to determine the tariff for the aeronautical services rendered at major airports; the amount of the development fees including user development Fee; and the amount of the passengers service fee levied under Rule 88 of the Aircraft Rules, 1937 made under the Aircraft Act, 1934.
Under the AERA, the Centre can designate an airport as a major airport if it has an annual passenger traffic of at least 35 lakhs. The central government is also empowered to designate any airport as a major airport through a notification.