Passenger fee lifts Abu Dhabi Airports operating profit

Abu Dhabi Airports announced on Tuesday that it achieved 65 per cent increase in operating profit during January-August 2017 as compared to same period in 2016, helped by passenger fee introduced in June last year.
The company grew its operating revenue by 26 per cent, the airport said.
Abu Dhabi Airports in June introduced Dh35 fees for passenger departing from or transiting through airports.
"One of the key contributors to this increase is the passenger facilitation charge introduced in July 2016," it said in the statement.
Previously, UAE airports were some of the few around the world that didn't implement transfer passenger fees. In response to market change, the government approved the charges and hence these were implemented across all airports in the second half of 2016.
Abu Dhabi Duty Free and Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone were other key contributors to the revenue increase.
Abdul Majeed Al Khoori, Acting CEO of Abu Dhabi Airports, said: "Supported by planning a smart and versatile strategy, we were able to turn challenges into opportunities and register record achievements in all aspects of our business."
2017 has proven to be yet another challenging year for the Middle East aviation industry, with the ripple effect of the Chinese austerity drive, the global political climate, and their influence on commodity and foreign exchange markets. Abu Dhabi International Airport has been affected by these external factors, which have impacted passenger traffic and aircraft movements.
2017 has also seen an 11 per cent increase in the operating expenditure compared to the same period in 2016, it said in a statement. These increases are a result of both planned operational requirements as well as a rise in the cost of third party services.
Abu Dhabi Airport said facility management and utility costs have also increased due to service provider fees.
"Abu Dhabi Airports is committed to utilizing all resources and manpower available to increase its efficiency and profitability. I would like to take this opportunity and extend the team's gratitude to our wise leadership, whose continuous support have played an instrumental role in the success that Abu Dhabi Airports is delivering," Al Khoori added.
waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com