Airport charges and passenger experience 

Aviation stakeholders are working hard at recovering, post pandemic. All need each other to thrive. Experts have suggested that going forward airports and airlines will need to develop models of airport charges that allow better risk sharing between airports and airlines. The passenger experience will be  affected by the ability of airports to collaboratively develop airport charging models.

Revenues that come from airport charges are the lifeblood of airports which they need for cost recovery as well as finance infrastructure to ensure that passenger experience is maximised. Typically when traffic increases, charges fall; the reverse is also true for when traffic falls. Across the globe airports have been reported to have had to refinance and negotiate terms with creditors, as debt levels are on the rise. The situation of airports is such that they have assets that are fixed and may have limited or no alternative use. So when debts begin to rise and risk profiles in the industry continue to change, costs of financing will be on the increase.

The global aviation standard setting body, International Civil Aviation Organisation ( ICAO), requires that: “consultation with airport and air navigation services users before changes in charging systems or levels of charges are introduced is important.” It states further in its document 9082: “Airports may produce sufficient revenues to exceed all direct and indirect operating costs (including general administration, etc) and so provide for a reasonable return on assets at a sufficient level to secure efficient financing in capital markets for the purpose of investing in new or expanded airport infrastructure and, where relevant, to remunerate adequately holders of airport equity.”

Airport charges do have an impact on the overall passenger experience. These charges are usually added to ticket prices which passengers pay.  Higher airport charges may, if material enough,  lead to more expensive ticket costs, and affect their travel choices and willingness to fly. Airport charges, however, are said to represent a small proportion of airline costs and have a minimal impact on passengers. Airlines may also choose to operate out of airports with lower charges to save costs. This decision can limit the choices available to passengers relating to flight options and destinations.

Where costs are increasing continually and airport charges are not adequate to meet with and improve on the costs of running facilities and amenities at an airport, the passenger experience may be less pleasant.

Where the process of collection of airport charges is inefficient, queues may result in increased customer wait times at the airport and increase in their level of dissatisfaction with services at the airport. Where operations are impacted by the level and administration of charges, longer wait times that result can affect overall travel experience. Recently at an airport lounge, the card payment was taking a long time. The passenger inserted three different bank cards and a final boarding announcement had been made. It took the intervention of someone with cash to speed up the payment process so that the passenger did not have a delayed boarding.

Airport charges can contribute to overall passenger satisfaction with their travel experience. When passengers feel that they are not getting value for the charges they pay, they may become dissatisfied and have a negative perception of that airport. So, airport charges do play a significant role in shaping the passenger experience. It is important that all members of the airport community work collaboratively to carefully consider how these charges impact travellers to ensure a positive and seamless journey for passengers.

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