Rather than charging all of its customers, Domodedovo now only charges those companies that actually use its facilities, meaning that most airlines will be excused from paying for infrastructure they have not used. Essentially, the aim of this exercise is to relieve the financial burden of airlines and increase competition among ground handlers.
Alexei Rajewski, Deputy Director for Commerce at Domodedovo, explained that the airport had "deliberately decided to de-monopolise the market of ground handling services." He went on to say, "In our view, it is closer to the Russian practice. One of the key elements of this model is the establishment of equal conditions of access to the ground handling market" and "the development of competition in the market of ground handling services to win the main consumer - the airline."
Essentially, part of the costs associated with ground infrastructure maintenance have been shifted from the airlines to those who actually use it. Consequently, this charge is now excluded from the standard take-off and landing fees and other payments airlines make. However, if an airline performs some of the handling operations itself, it will still be charged for using the airport’s facilities.
Rajewski added that Domodedovo currently has over 65 non-affiliated companies active at Domodedovo, which previously paid nothing for using the airport’s facilities under the old system. “So it turns out that our only affiliated agent, which serves less than 50% of passenger traffic, bares the entire load. What we are doing now is a very unpopular measure of making all agents equal in terms of sharing the infrastructure maintenance costs,” he concluded.
The airport introduced the scheme last year but has made a particular effort since April to enforce the new practice. The roll-out has been met with opposition, however, from airlines with in-house handling agents or integrated ground handling providers. New handling companies, which Domodedovo attracts in order to increase competition, have not objected to the rules.
