Passengers flying out of Delhi will now have to pay less with the aviation regulatory body slashing the user development fee (UDF) on domestic as well international flights from here. Domestic passengers departing from the Indira Gandhi International Airport will now have to pay a UDF of INR 10, as against the levy of INR 275-550 earlier. International passengers will have to pay INR 45, down from INR 635-1,270. Both domestic and international passengers landing in Delhi will not have to pay the UDF anymore. This translates into a saving of INR 233-466 for the former and that of INR 518-1,048 for the latter. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation notified the revised tariff order. Significantly, Delhi International Airport (DIAL), the joint venture company which operates IGIA, had sought 42.6 per cent hike in airport charges.
Airports Economic Regulatory Authority had ordered this steep cut in December 2015 but its implementation was pending because the Delhi airport operator had approached the court against the slashing of charges. Air India challenged this in the Supreme Court, which on July 3, vacated a stay granted by the Delhi high court, paving the way for revised tariffs to be implemented.
