Hyderabad airport fee likely to be hiked soon

Passengers flying out of Hyderabad may have to shell out more as the airport operator has sought the government's nod to raise User Development Fee (UDF) by 20% for domestic flights and over 100% for international.

Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (HIAL), who operate the new greenfield airport, has planned to charge Rs475 plus service tax, up from Rs375 being paid by every departing domestic passenger currently.

In the case of international passengers, the hike will be steeper with the private operator planning to charge between Rs2,700 and Rs2,800 plus taxes, instead of Rs1,000 at present.

"We have sent a proposal to the civil aviation ministry to increase the UDF at the Hyderabad airport. It will take 2-3 months for the new charges to be in place. It will come," GMR Group chairman GM Rao told reporters here.

Terming the increase as essential, Rao said it was necessary to sustain the new greenfield airports like the one at Hyderabad. "And world over it is a common practice", he claimed.

Major global airline bodies, like International Air Transport Association, have been opposing hikes in user charges saying it would hurt the growth of aviation industry in India.