On Friday, news reports surfaced claiming that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had imposed new charges of Rs100 on each domestic passenger traveling through Pakistan’s airports. However, this assertion has been debunked as false.

While the CAA did announce airport charges amounting to Rs100, these charges are not novel; they have merely been rebranded under a different name. Saifullah, the CAA spokesperson, clarified to Aaj Digital that the funds were already being collected as ‘security charges’ and would now be termed ‘airport charges.’

In essence, there are no additional charges imposed on domestic passengers traveling through airports; it is merely a nomenclature adjustment.

The CAA’s notification specified that the charges would be collected by airlines and then remitted to the CAA.

Simultaneously, the CAA issued show-cause notices to Serene Air and Air Blue concerning flight delays and cancellations that affected ‘hundreds’ of passengers. The airlines have been warned of potential fines, license cancellations, or reduced flights if they fail to provide a satisfactory explanation.