Passenger service fee at airports may go up

The Passenger Service Fee (PSF), levied on air travellers, might marginally go up as the authorities are finding it difficult to manage the escalating cost of airport security, government officials said.

The differences between the ministries of home and civil aviation over who would bear the cost of providing security at airports continued to linger with the civil aviation ministry arguing that it was the responsibility of the central government to provide security since it was a sovereign function.

The home ministry had set up a committee to find out the actual cost of providing security at the 98 functional airports.