AFTA Update

From Dean Long, CEO

IF YOU needed a reminder that winter is upon us, come to Canberra.

I’m writing from the nation’s capital today with snow falling all around, a perfect time to hit the slopes.

Which would be wonderful, but the true reason for the visit is the slightly less glamorous activity of reading budget papers.

Many of you will be aware of the concerns we had about a raise of the Passenger Movement Charge (PMC), and so it has proved with a proposed increase to $70 per person, per departure.

Many of our ATAS-accredited members would be delighted by a 16% increase in margin, which is exactly what the Government has put forward with this raise.

It’s extremely disappointing, because in the three ‘normal’ years prior to COVID the Government over-collected the PMC by an average of $811 million per year.

Even by Wall Street standards, that’s an impressive profit.

Put simply, not only were we and our clients paying our fair share, the Government was also pocketing a tidy ransom for our right to travel.

As I have said previously in this column, the PMC at $55 was resulting in Australia receiving 5% fewer seats than if the PMC was not in place.

At a time where capacity for international travel is tracking at least 30% below pre-COVID normal, any increase without the appropriate restrictions will result in higher airfares, particularly hurting families looking to reconnect post-pandemic.

The Government will still require Senate approval for the increase, so there is much work to be done.

AFTA will be very much engaged in that process.

AFTA, TTF and AAA have established an industry-wide working group to coordinate our efforts through the parliamentary review process to get the best possible outcome for our members, clients and the sector at large.