TravelNewsAsia.com

 

Travel News - More Travel News

 

Privatized Narita Needs a Regulator - IATA Voices Concerns to Minister Ogi

Travel News Asia 27 January 2003

International Air Transport Association (IATA) Director General and CEO, Giovanni Bisignani urged Japan’s Minister of Land Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) Chigake Ogi to ensure that a strong and effective economic regulatory regime is put in place as part of Narita’s privatization process.

Bisignani noted that IATA is encouraged by the government’s decision to privatize Narita independently but stated that several serious concerns remain. “Privatization should benefit not only the operators of Narita and the Government, but also the airlines, passengers and shippers. It is  essential that a strong and independent economic regulatory regime be established,” wrote Bisignani. 

The UN body governing civil aviation (ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization) recommends the establishment of a regulatory regime in the privatization process. IATA believes that such a regime should ensure that:  

• charges are just and reasonable

• infrastructure development is timely and cost-effective

• service standards are acceptable

• there is the ability to redress the users’ weak bargaining position

Bisignani commented that “airports are basically monopolies that provide an essential public service. When governments sell these assets to the private sector it cannot be a license to print money. It is in everyone’s interest that ground rules are clearly established early on so that owners and users of the facilities will have a clear understanding of the value of the airport and the costs of services provided.”

Bisignani concluded that “a successful privatization of Narita would give the world a clear signal that things are changing for the better in Japan and a new era of economic transparency and openness is beginning.”

Subscribe to our Travel Industry News RSS Feed Travel Industry News RSS Feed from TravelNewsAsia.com. To do that in Outlook, right-click the RSS Feeds folder, select Add a New RSS Feed, enter the URL of our RSS Feed which is: https://www.travelnewsasia.com/travelnews.xml and click Add. The feed can also be used to add the headlines to your website or channel via a customisable applet. Have questions? Please read our Travel News FAQ. Thank you.

     
 
 
Copyright © 1997-2024 TravelNewsAsia.com