China said Friday its domestic airlines have been allowed to levy surcharges of up to US$2.50 per passenger on international routes, as of October 15 in the wake of the terrorist attack on the United States on September 11.
In a circular issued Friday, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (GACA) said the new fees could also be imposed from October 15 on flights to and from the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao.
According to the circular, domestic flights are currently exempt from the surcharge.
The new fees are necessary, it said, since global insurers have altered third-party war insurance, and war-related insurance premiums had risen dramatically since October 1.
Airlines owned by the Chinese mainland have to pay an extra one billion yuan (nearly US$1.2 billion) annually due to the move by the global insurers, according to the GACA.
However, the new surcharges to be collected by Chinese airlines are expected to cover only one fifth of their increased insurance expenditure.
(People's Daily 10/06/2001)
