President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India, AERA (Amendment) Bill- 2019. A Gazette Notification to this effect has been issued. The Parliament had passed the bill on 2nd of this month.

The bill increases the threshold of annual passenger traffic for major airports from 15 lakh to over 35 lakh passengers. Earlier, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008 defined a major airport as one with annual passenger traffic over 15 lakh, or any other airports as notified by the central government.

As per the provisions of the bill, the Authority will not determine the tariff, tariff structures, or the development fees, in cases where these amounts were a part of the bid document on the basis of which the airport operations were awarded.