landing charges

They're up in the air over Nadi's landing charges

From a Suva correspondent The International Air Trans port Association’s warning that

higher landing fees at Fiji’s Nadi

Airport might discourage some

airlines from landing there re newed the chorus of resentment over the high level of Pacific air fares themselves. lATA’s warning was contained in a letter the association sent to the New Zealand Minister for Transport, Mr.

J. B. Gordon, a few days before the 10 per cent, increase was imple mented at Nadi on February 1. The rise in landing fees makes the airport one of the most expensive in the world for airline operators.

The South Pacific Air Transport Council, which is responsible for the administration of Nadi Airport (with New Zealand acting as principal agents) claims that the increased fees are due to a reduction in return from landing fees paid in foreign exchange. This, in turn, was caused by devaluation in November, 1967.

In its letter to Mr. Gordon, lATA complained of inadequate notice of the increased charges and warned that some airlines might well con sider overflying Fiji even more than they do now.

The letter said that airlines had never accepted that devaluation of currency automatically called for an increase in charges, adding that operations and maintenance expendi

ture did not normally increase be cause of devaluation, since it remained as outgoings in the local currency. The association remained ready to discuss both Fiji and New Zealand charges at a convenient date.

Defending the increased Nadi fees, Fiji’s Minister for Communications, Works and Tourism, Mr. C. A.

Stinson, declared that they wouldn’t have been necessary if the airlines had not raised their fares to counter devaluation. He said the increases amounted only to about an extra 90 cents for each passenger being car ried through the airport.

He added that he had absolutely no qualms about the overfly threat because he didn’t believe the airlines would give up business from Nadi (122,000 passengers during 1968) for the sake of saving the “extra few dollars” involved in the new landing costs.

During 1967/68, he said, Nadi Airport’s income was $1,084,000.

The loss on its operation was $630,- 000. The airport would continue to run at a loss.

Mr. Stinson didn’t think discus sions with lATA on the landing fees would serve much purpose but he did feel that discussions concern ing an overall reduction of Pacific air fares would be of “great value”.

Fiji Visitors Bureau managing director, Mr. Rory Scott, bought in to the argument too, saying that the high air fares are part of the reason for airlines experiencing low load factors in the Pacific.

He had no quarrel with the fares from Australia and New Zealand to Fiji, but said the Honolulu-Nadi charge was a big handicap in the way of Fijj’s efforts to build up tourist flow from North America.