Mumbai: Travelling from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) will become expensive from May 16 as the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) has accepted the Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (MIAL) proposed increase in the user development fee (UDF).
The Free Press Journal was the first to report on March 18 that Mumbai Airport had proposed introducing a UDF of Rs 325 for domestic travellers and an increase in the UDF from Rs 187 to Rs 650. MIAL made this proposal to AERA on March 17 under its annual tariff proposal for the fourth control period of CSMIA. However, MIAL had claimed that it has tried to balance the introduction of UDF by reducing the landing and parking charges levied on airlines by 35%.
On Wednesday, the airport operator’s proposal was approved by AERA and will be applicable for tickets issued on or before May 16. According to the revised tariff, for each domestic and international passenger boarding a flight from Mumbai Airport, the respective airline would have to pay Rs 325 and Rs 650 to the airport. While the charge varies upon the flow of travel, MIAL has said that there will be no difference of UDF based on the Terminal.
UDF is a fee collected from embarking or disembarking passengers for the provision of passenger amenities, services and facilities. This fee is used for the development, management, maintenance, operation and expansion of facilities at the Airport, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization.
AERA observed that even at non-major airports, UDF of up to Rs 745 per embarking passenger is applicable for the Cluster-1 category. “Considering the scale of operations, infrastructure usage, and investment requirements at CSMIA, which is the financial capital of the country, the Authority finds it reasonable and consistent to recover certain portion of aggregate revenue requirement from the domestic UDF at CSMIA as well,” said the authority.
