Air passengers in China can now stop paying the airport tax, but they will be charged a fee for the development of civil aviation instead, according to a notice issued by the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday.

Since April 1, those taking domestic flights are paying 50 yuan ($7.94) in development fund fees, while international passengers are paying 90 yuan (including 20 yuan in tourism development fund).

The two-decades-old airport tax, or airport construction fee, which was 50 yuan per person for domestic flights and 90 yuan for overseas flights, has been repealed.

When reached by China Daily website on Tuesday afternoon, however, employees at China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines said they were not aware of any change in fees.

The charges are collected by airlines, who then hand it in to the central Treasury as part of the government fund under the supervision of the Finance Ministry and auditing department. It will be spent on civil aviation infrastructure construction, airline subsidies, energy saving and emission reduction, general aviation development and other aspects, according to the notice.