BEIJING - Passengers need to pay for a civil aviation development fund when taking flights in China instead of the airport construction fee, the country's finance ministry announced Tuesday.

The Ministry of Finance said in a statement that it has canceled the charging of airport construction fees and instead, will charge passengers a civil aviation fee from April 1. The new fee will be 50 yuan (7.94 US dollars) for each domestic flight, the same amount as the previous construction fee.

Passengers of feeder line flights do not have to pay for the fund, while for international flights, passengers will be charged 90 yuan, of which 20 yuan will be set aside for a tourism development fund, according to the ministry.

Outbound passengers with diplomatic passports, or passengers under the age of 12 are exempted, according to the statement.

The civil aviation development fund is government-controlled, said the ministry. It will be collected by the airlines and brought under governmental budgetary management.

The fund will be spent on infrastructure constructions, subsidizing airlines, emissions cuts and energy conservation in aviation, training and equipment replacement, technology development and other expenses in the field. The ministry confirmed that the funds shall not be diverted for other purposes.