Taking international flights from Delhi to get costly

International passengers flying from and landing at the Delhi airport will have to pay between 400% and 527% more from 16 April as the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Aera) approved the GMR-Group managed Delhi airport's proposal to increase the user development fee (UDF). On the other hand, Aera rejected Delhi airport's demand to increase the UDF for domestic flights, keeping it unchanged at ₹129 per passenger.

DIAL proposed a UDF of ₹1,620 for business class and ₹810 for economy class. However, Aera reduced the rates to ₹810 for business class and ₹650 for economy embarking passengers. UDF for disembarking international passengers has been kept at ₹345 and ₹275 for business and economy passengers, respectively.

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DIAL proposed a differential UDF amount for domestic passengers during peak and off-peak hours. The proposed rates were between ₹610 and ₹405 for domestic passengers during peak and off-peak hours, respectively. However, in consumer interest, the regulator rejected the proposal and kept the UDF unchanged at ₹129 per passenger.

Charges rationalized

The regulator also rationalised the landing and parking charges, which would increase airline costs. Landing charges for domestic narrow-body aircraft have increased 84% to ₹347/MT from ₹188 and for widebody to ₹564/MT. For international narrow-body aircraft, landing charges have been increased to ₹570/MT from ₹250/MT. Parking charges have been kept at ₹18/MT per hour for remote stands and ₹36/MT per hour for contact stands. Earlier charges were ₹8.47/MT per hour.

In a statement, Aera said, “The decision to not change the prevailing UDF for domestic passengers, which makes 80% of the total traffic at Delhi Airport, is to protect passenger interest and ensure affordability.”

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During the consultation process, the global airline body International Air Transport Association (IATA) opposed Delhi International Airport's proposal for a variable tariff structure saying the differential pricing structure is onerous and discriminatory. Air India had similar concerns about differential pricing.

Delhi Airports expects a 5.26% YoY growth in domestic passengers in FY26 and 6.72% in FY27. However, it expects domestic passenger growth to be at 5.74% in FY28, which is further expected to slow down to 4.63% in FY29. Similarly, growth in international passengers is pegged at 4.84% in FY26, which is expected to increase to 5.37% as the airport plans to upgrade infrastructure for international flights. However, the growth in international passengers is expected to slow down to 4.70% in FY28 & 3.99% in FY29.

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