IATA OPPOSES CROSS-SUBSIDIZATION OF JAPAN’S AIRPORTS

IATA OPPOSES CROSS-SUBSIDIZATION OF JAPAN’S AIRPORTS    The International Air Transport Association said Thursday it opposes any cross-subsidization of Japan’s major airports, on grounds that the high landing charges at Narita, the country’s principal international airport, will be used to bail out losses at Kansai and Chubu airports.
   That would be “a clear violation” of standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, IATA said in a statement.
   “Seemingly immune to the competitive pressures of the industry, Narita has not achieved any cost savings resulting in reduced charges since it began operations in 1978,” IATA said. “Narita’s user charges remain the highest in the world by an unacceptable margin.”
   “Airlines can no longer afford to shoulder the costs associated with the (Japanese) airports’ monopolistic inefficiency,” said Giovanni Bisignani, director general of IATA.
   IATA expressed its views in what it called “a strongly-worded letter” sent to Chikage Ogi, Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.