While flying has already become expensive, it will become even more costly in the coming months if Delhi Airport gets its way. The airport has requested permission from the airport regulator of India (AERA) to charge airport passengers a variable fee depending on the hour of the day they fly. Here are the details.

Delhi Airport proposes charging more for Business Class/Premium Economy customers and Peak Hour travellers.

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), the consortium led by the GMR Group that runs India’s busiest airport, has proposed increasing the User Development Fee (UDF). The UDF is a fee levied by airports on passengers to use and modernise the airport infrastructure. Mumbai and Bengaluru are among the other airports in the country that charge UDF.

Currently, INR 62 is charged as a user development fee (UDF) for all cabin classes departing on domestic or international flights.  This is over and above other fees such as the Passenger Security Fee for the use of the security infrastructure at the airport, and the CUTE fees which some airlines might charge (for the use of airport terminal equipment such as check-in counters, charged to the airline and rolled further down to the passengers).

Now, DIAL wants to increase the fee massively. Between 2025 and 2029, they want to increase the UDF for international business and first-class passengers and all domestic passengers travelling during the morning and evening peak hours. Travel between 05:00 and 08:55 a.m. and 05:00 and 08:55 p.m. is classified as ‘peak hours. ‘

The proposal from GMR for domestic travellers is:

• For Departing Passengers (Domestic)
  • For the next two years (2025-27), passengers will pay INR 405 UDF for flights scheduled to depart during off-peak hours and INR 210 for the two years after that (2027-29).
  • Passengers pay INR 610 UDF during the peak hours (5-8:55 am/pm departures) for the next two years (2025-27) and INR 315 for the two years after that (2027-29).
• For Arriving Passengers (Domestic)
  • For the next two years (2025-27), passengers will pay INR 140 UDF for flights scheduled to arrive during off-peak hours and INR 80 for the two years after that (2027-29).
  • Passengers pay INR 610 UDF during the peak hours (5-8:55 am/pm departures) for the next two years (2025-27) and INR 315 for the two years after that (2027-29).
  • Note that no UDF has been charged for arrivals into Delhi Airport so far.

The proposal from GMR for international travellers is:

• For Departing Passengers (International):
  • For the next two years (2025-27), first, business and premium economy class passengers will pay INR 1620 UDF for international flights departing from DEL and INR 860 for the two years after that (2027-29).
  • For the next two years (2025-27), economy class passengers will pay INR 810 UDF for international flights departing from DEL and INR 430 for the two years after that (2027-29).
  • Note that there has been no differential fee charged by cabin class so far.
• For Arriving Passengers (International):
  • For the next two years (2025-27), first, business class and premium economy class passengers will pay INR 570 UDF for international flights arriving into DEL and INR 300 for the two years after that (2027-29).
  • For the next two years (2025-27), economy class passengers will pay INR 280 UDF for international flights departing from DEL and INR 150 for the two years after that (2027-29).
  • Note that no UDF has been charged for arrivals into Delhi Airport so far.

Airport tariffs are revised once every five years; however, there has been a delay. Delhi Airport will be making significant capital expenditures. They’ve already invested in the new Terminal 1, and now, they will have to invest in many other facilities, such as the people mover.

The Economic Times first accessed the tariff plan.

If it's a newsbreak from Indian #aviation it will be on the @EconomicTimes
As reported on 1 Feb India's busiest airport Delhi has proposed a variable tariff for passengers based on class & hour
If govt approves, it will be the first time for an Indian airport to try this model https://t.co/PWJQGDLNJB pic.twitter.com/3YccYwvDaK

— Arindam Majumder (@ari_maj) February 10, 2025

As per the airport representatives, this variable plan will allow the airport to charge economy passengers less if they are allowed to charge premium passengers more.

Bottomline

This is the first time any Indian airport will try out variable pricing, both by class of service and the time of use of the airport, for passengers using the airport in India. As you can note, the fee is going to be seeing a massive hike if it sails through.

What do you think of the proposals of the Delhi Airport to charge UDF?

---

Liked our articles and our efforts? Please pay an amount you are comfortable with; an amount you believe is the fair price for the content you have consumed. Please enter an amount in the box below and click on the button to pay; you can use Netbanking, Debit/Credit Cards, UPI, QR codes, or any Wallet to pay. Every contribution helps cover the cost of the content generated for your benefit.

(Important: to receive confirmation and details of your transaction, please enter a valid email address in the pop-up form that will appear after you click the ‘Pay Now’ button. For international transactions, use Paypal to process the transaction.)

We are not putting our articles behind any paywall where you are asked to pay before you read an article. We are asking you to pay after you have read the article if you are satisfied with the quality and our efforts.