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THESE magnificent airports the Airports Company of SA (Acsa) have built cost a lot of cake, which gets paid for in the form of airport taxes. To finance the massive capital expenditure involved in the building of the airports we have had airport taxes increasing by 33%, in 2010, 34.8% in 2011 and 30.6% in 2012.
Even though increases have dropped to a lower rate of 5.5% in 2013 and 5.6% in 2014, these are on top of the sharp increases in tariffs from prior years.
And let's not even speak about the other new tax for most OR Tambo International passengers: E-tolls to and from the airport.
The construction of these wonderful airports flies in the face of the stat that a slim majority of South Africans would prefer a much more basic airport (more like a warehouse) in exchange for lower airfares (source: SouthAfrica.TO cheap flights survey).
Granted, there is a significant minority of South Africans who prefer a luxurious airport, and these are the passengers Acsa listened to, and strategised for. Anyway, that's all history, and we are now saddled with the consequences of this expenditure.
In the year from April 1 2013 to March 31 2014, the passenger service charges were R120 for domestic flights, R249 for regional flights and R328 for international flight. From April 1 2014 passenger service charges increase to R127 for regional flights, R263 for regional flights and R346 for international flights.
Airlines have known about this increase for a long time, so have probably already factored it into their setting of airfares.
Background to airport taxes
Acsa are a regulated monopoly, which runs the major airports in South Africa - OR Tambo International Airport, Cape Town, King Shaka (Durban), Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Upington, Port Elizabeth, George and East London.
Significant exceptions to the monopoly are Lanseria Airport, Skukuza Airport, Richards Bay Airport and Nelspruit's Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport.
Acsa mostly uses airport taxes to finance its operations, and the level of the taxes is overseen by a "Regulating Committee", who need to ensure that Acsa earns a commercial return (but not abuse its monopoly position by earning more).
Airport taxes include aircraft parking charges, charges for planes to land (some do so without parking) and passenger service charges. The passenger service charges are the ones most in the limelight, as they are claimed directly from passengers as part of their airfare.
- Fin24
*This article first appeared in South Africa Travel Online. Rob Baker is co-owner of South Africa Travel Online. Follow him on twitter on @southafricaTO.
Even though increases have dropped to a lower rate of 5.5% in 2013 and 5.6% in 2014, these are on top of the sharp increases in tariffs from prior years.
And let's not even speak about the other new tax for most OR Tambo International passengers: E-tolls to and from the airport.
The construction of these wonderful airports flies in the face of the stat that a slim majority of South Africans would prefer a much more basic airport (more like a warehouse) in exchange for lower airfares (source: SouthAfrica.TO cheap flights survey).
Granted, there is a significant minority of South Africans who prefer a luxurious airport, and these are the passengers Acsa listened to, and strategised for. Anyway, that's all history, and we are now saddled with the consequences of this expenditure.
In the year from April 1 2013 to March 31 2014, the passenger service charges were R120 for domestic flights, R249 for regional flights and R328 for international flight. From April 1 2014 passenger service charges increase to R127 for regional flights, R263 for regional flights and R346 for international flights.
Airlines have known about this increase for a long time, so have probably already factored it into their setting of airfares.
Background to airport taxes
Acsa are a regulated monopoly, which runs the major airports in South Africa - OR Tambo International Airport, Cape Town, King Shaka (Durban), Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Upington, Port Elizabeth, George and East London.
Significant exceptions to the monopoly are Lanseria Airport, Skukuza Airport, Richards Bay Airport and Nelspruit's Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport.
Acsa mostly uses airport taxes to finance its operations, and the level of the taxes is overseen by a "Regulating Committee", who need to ensure that Acsa earns a commercial return (but not abuse its monopoly position by earning more).
Airport taxes include aircraft parking charges, charges for planes to land (some do so without parking) and passenger service charges. The passenger service charges are the ones most in the limelight, as they are claimed directly from passengers as part of their airfare.
- Fin24
*This article first appeared in South Africa Travel Online. Rob Baker is co-owner of South Africa Travel Online. Follow him on twitter on @southafricaTO.
