New US$8 air-passenger fee to take effect late summer
Published:Wednesday | June 22, 2011 | 12:00 AM
The Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) has indicated that it will take another two months to put the new air passenger fee into effect, and that the charge is less than a third of the figure previous reports suggested.
The fee, from which JCAA projects to raise J$1.25 billion this fiscal year, should have taken effect June 1.
But, "while the regulation was promulgated on the effective date, it is expected to be implemented 90 days after," the airspace regulator said in response to Wednesday Business queries. The delay pushes implementation to the end of August.
The fee will be applied at a rate US$8 per passenger round trip.
"A fixed charge of US $4 per one-way will be added to the ticket of each passenger. Therefore passengers making round-trips to and from Jamaica will pay US$8," said JCAA executive director Lt Col Oscar Derby in a letter responding to reports that the fee was expected to be US$27.50 per passenger.
"However, passengers on connecting flights will not be included in this charge," Derby wrote.
JCAA said the fee would be reflected on the tickets of passengers travelling to and from Jamaica, and that the civil aviation regulations and schedules have been revised accordingly to reflect the new fee.
"The Passenger Service Charge represents an adjustment in our current fee structure," said the JCAA. "Under the revised structure navigation fees and regulatory fees will be reallocated to the largest beneficiaries of aviation safety services, that is, the passengers."