New Delhi:
Flying out of the swanky new Kolkata airport terminal would become costlier from mid-February after the airport economic regulator announced user development fee (UDF) for domestic and international travel.
Domestic passengers would have to pay Rs 400 per ticket as UDF, while those flying to foreign destinations would have to shell out Rs 1,000 more when they travel from February 16, according to the order of the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA).
The UDF would rise further to Rs 424 for domestic and Rs 1060 for international travel with effect from April one 2014, while it would be Rs 449 and Rs 1124 from April one 2015.
While airport development fee (ADF) is levied to meet cash flow requirements before completion of an airport upgrade project, UDF is charged for using the completed facility.
UDF is being charged at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) completing the prestigious project that was inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee last Sunday. At present, ADF is levied at private-led Delhi and Mumbai airports, among others.
The AERA also determined the tariff for cargo carriage, allowing a five per cent increase over the prevailing rates from February 16, and a further five per cent increase every financial year from April 2013, April 2014 and April 2015.
The regulatory body also fixed the charges for services like landing, navigation and parking charges and fuel throughput, which the airlines would have to bear.