The Parliament Committee of the Whole House has passed the government’s proposed amendment to the Airport Taxes and Fees Act to increase airport taxes, excluding an opposition proposal to exempt all airports other than Velana International Airport from the tax.

The Bill proposes to increase the departure tax and airport development fee from December next year.

The proposed legislation, submitted by the government, aims to raise the departure tax for passengers departing from all Maldivian airports. The updated fees are:

- Foreigners departing in economy class: Increase from $30 to $50

- Business class passengers: Increase from $60 to $120

- First class passengers: Increase from $90 to $240

- Jet passengers: Increase from $120 to $480

Opposition MDP MP Ameen Faisal moved a proposal during the committee stage to exempt all airports except Velana International Airport from this tax, and was supported by South Hithadhoo MP Ibrahim Nazil.

The proposal however, faced significant opposition in the committee. When put to a vote, 68 members opposed the amendment, while only 11 supported it. As a result, the amendment failed, and the committee passed the bill without any changes.