The fee was levied on people accompanying passengers at the airport by Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). PHOTO: APP
RAWALPINDI:
The Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi bench on Wednesday directed the government to abolish the entry fee at Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) it has been collecting illegally since 2007.
In a detailed judgment, LHC Justice Ijaz Ahmad declared the imposition of Rs20 fee as illegal. The fee was levied on people accompanying passengers at the airport by Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
The court has directed the CAA and law enforcement agencies to take steps to limit the number of visitors accompanying travellers into the parking lot and lounge.
The judge observed that the entry fee allowed all sorts of people to enter the BBIA and there were no security checks for the safety of passengers.
Barrister Sajjad Ahmad Satti had challenged the airport entry fee levied on relatives and friends accompanying passengers in a petition filed in the public interest. The petition had been pending before the court for more than two years.
Counsel for the petitioner, Raja Saimul Haq Satti contended before the court that the tender for collection of airport entry fee was awarded to Khawar Mehmood & Co of Gujrat, a firm that is not even registered.
“The contract was awarded for six months but the firm has been collecting the fee since 2007 and has never been audited,” he said.
Initially, the company was awarded the contract on condition that it would deposit Rs85,000 with the CAA per day. Later, the amount was decreased to Rs76,000.
He contended before the court that CAA had been committing enormous financial irregularities.
“On one hand they are creating hardship for the public at large and on the other hand they are causing colossal financial loss to the public exchequer.
The counsel maintained that CAA had imposed the airport entry fee without following due course of law and was illegally collecting a minimum Rs20 to Rs40 per visitor.
Satti had questioned in court whether the CAA was entitled to impose a fee without providing an additional service or facility to individuals. He had also asked if the fee had been imposed at any other airport in the country. The bench had reserved its judgment in this case on June 11.
The petitioner had nominated the Federation of Pakistan through the ministry of defence, CAA chairman, Benazir Bhutto International Airport director general (DG), Khawar Mehmood & Co Competition Commission of Pakistan chairman, National Accountability Bureau chief and Federal Investigation Agency DG as respondents.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 20th, 2013.
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OMG!!! seriously its too much , i mean BBIA seriously does not meet the criteria to be called an " International Airport " , so wonder where all the entry fee was going to ???