From May 16, flyers to pay more for tickets as user fee for Mumbai airport hiked

MUMBAI: Airfares on domestic and international flights operating to and from Mumbai airport are set to cost more from May 16, as the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) has approved a hike in User Development Fee (UDF).Like taxes and fuel surcharges, UDF is embedded in the cost of the airline ticket.Earlier, a "Development Fee" of Rs 120 per departing domestic passengers was levied till Aug 2024, the AERA order said. Currently, only the international departing passenger pays a UDF, levied at Rs 187."The UDF will be levied on tickets booked on May 16 and thereafter," clarified an aviation source. The UDF levy will be applicable for flights booked from May 16, 2025, to March 31, 2029.On the domestic front, a UDF of Rs 175 will be levied on passengers booked on flights departing from Mumbai, and a fee of Rs 75 on those arriving in Mumbai. For international flights, the UDF fee is split further based on the class booked. International departing economy class passengers will pay a UDF of Rs 615, while those arriving will pay Rs 260. For international business class passengers, the fee is Rs 695 and Rs 304 for embarking and disembarking passengers, respectively.With this, the cost of one domestic ticket to and from Mumbai will go up by Rs 250, international economy return tickets will increase by Rs 875, and for business class, the hike will be Rs 999. However, if you already booked air tickets on flights departing or arriving in Mumbai post-May 16, you do not have to pay this UDF. Those booking air tickets in the next week will also be exempt.Levying a UDF for airport facilities is a common practice worldwide, though most airports limit it to departing passengers.AERA, in its tariff order, stated: "UDF now has been determined for both embarking and disembarking passengers as a significant portion of the airport infrastructure, including aero bridges, travelators, conveyor belts, and arrival facilities inside the terminal building, are also being used by both embarking and disembarking passengers. Therefore, distributing the overall UDF charges between embarking and disembarking passengers in a suitable proportion of their actual usage of airport facilities would lead to an equitable distribution of the tariff burden amongst the users of the airport and would also spread out the costs amongst all airport users." Airports such as Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram also levy a UDF on arriving passengers.The Mumbai airport operator, in their tariff proposal submitted to AERA for the Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) during 2024-29, entailed an increase of 675% in the prevailing airport charges. "However, AERA, after carrying out a thorough examination of the said proposal, has arrived at a significantly lower ARR that would result in a nominal increase of 21.65% over the existing airport charges. This adjustment will enable the airport operator to meet essential capital expenditure requirements, maintain operational efficiency, and ensure service quality," it said.Based on its calculations, AERA arrived at a Yield per Passenger (YPP) of Rs 442 per departing passenger for MIAL and distributed this between domestic and international departing and arriving passengers.