By IANS,
New Delhi : Y.S. Bhave, secretary in the Department of Consumer Affairs, was Friday appointed chairperson of the newly constituted airport regulator, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA).
The major duties of AERA will be to foster healthy competition among airports and airlines, encourage investment in airport facilities, regulate fares and protect the interests of users.
Bhave, a 1972 batch Indian Administrative Service officer, has been appointed for a period of five years, the civil aviation ministry said in a statement.
Other members in AERA will be appointed soon, it added.
The AERA Bill, 2007, got cabinet’s nod in May 2007, but it was cleared by parliament only in October last year.
A committee set up under former civil aviation secretary Naresh Chandra had prepared the blueprint for AERA and set the ground rules for the aviation sector in November 2003.