High fares for the airport railway - and no concessions for students or the elderly - would drive away travellers, provisional legislators warned yesterday. Members of the transport panel were dissatisfied with the Mass Transit Railway Corporation's explanations that the $100 minimum one-way charge for Airport Express Line ride were needed to stave off losses. Lau Kong-wah of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong described the fare structure as 'anti-farewells, anti-sightseeing and anti-elderly'. 'A family of five would have to pay $1,000 just to see somebody off. This is totally unacceptable,' Mr Lau said. Chan Wing-chan, also of the DAB, called for an $80 23-minute trip to Hong Kong Island. Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee of the Liberal Party said: 'The airport itself is a very grand construction in Hong Kong and the Airport Express should allow locals to pay visits there on this luxurious line.' Under the MTRC plan, the lowest fares for a single trip would be $100 from Hong Kong, $90 from Kowloon and $65 from Tsing Yi. Only children and day-return travellers will enjoy concessions. MTRC chairman Jack So Chak-kwong said the proposed fares were the lowest if the internal 10 per cent rate of return was honoured and the Airport Express was to be financially self-sufficient. He said the Airport Express must balance its books or it might affect other MTR fares. He said the railway was for tourists and airport passengers, and not for daily use. People can say their farewells at in-town check-in stations furnished like the airport terminal, he said.