Bengaluru: Travellers flying from the Kempegowda International Airport will have to spend more for tickets booked from April 16 to August 15 as the User Development Fee (UDF) has been increased.
An official release from the KIA stated that the UDF for domestic departures will be revised to Rs 306 from Rs 139 and international departures will be Rs 1,226 from Rs 558. The revised charges will be applicable for tickets booked between April 16 and August 15. The UDF will revert to earlier rates after the period ends. The additional funds collected will only be used to meet capital expenditure of the expansion projects and will provide BIAL with the required cash flows for implementation of these projects.
The UDF has been revised based on an Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) amendment issued on April 4, allowing BIAL to collect the revised charges for four months.
"This incremental increase in charges will provide BIAL the much-needed relief as we are in the midst of a massive Rs 13,000 crore capacity expansion to cater to the stupendous growth of the aviation sector in India. As mandated by AERA, the money generated from the incremental increase in UDF, during these four months, will be deposited in a separate bank account and will be used only to fund the ongoing infrastructure expansion," said Mr Hari Marar, MD & CEO, BIAL.
Asked about the increase in ticket fares, a source at the airport said, “The hike in airfares will completely depend on the airlines and their dynamics of flight schedules and we cannot comment.”
