Bengaluru airport to raise user fee by 120% for 4 months to fund expansion
16 Apr 2019
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Flying out from Bengaluru airport will be costlier, beginning today, after the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AREA) has allowed the airport operator to increase user development fee (USF) by a massive 120 per cent, for four months.
Bangalore, the nation's third busiest airport after New Delhi and Mumbai, plans to use the additional fee to fund its expansion.
"With the AERA order coming into effect from April 16, the UDF for domestic departures will be revised to Rs306 from Rs139 while for international departures it will be Rs1,226 against Rs558 earlier," Bangalore airport said in a statement on Monday.
The new charges for domestic and international travel translate into an increase of 120 per cent and 119 per cent, respectively, it added.
The revised fee is applicable for tickets procured between 16 April and 15 August, it said, adding the increased fee will be rolled back from 16 August.
Bangalore airport expansion envisages Rs13,000-crore investment involving construction of a new terminal, a second runway, access roads, and a multi-modal transport hub, the company said, adding that construction is are scheduled to be completed by March 2021.
"This incremental increase in charges will provide us with the much-needed relief as we are in the midst of a Rs13,000-crore capacity expansion," said Hari Marar, managing director and chief executive.
As mandated by AERA, the money generated from the incremental UDF hike during these four months, will be deposited in a separate bank account and will be used only to fund the ongoing expansion, he added.
The Kempegowda International Airport began operations in May 2008 and is the second airport build on a PPP model after Kochi which was commissioned in the late 1990s. The airport handled 26.91 million passengers in FY18 and is one of the fastest growing in the world.
Canadian NRI Prem Watsa-run Fairfax owns 54 per cent in the airport and Siemens Projects Ventures hold 20 per cent. Of the remaining 26 per cent, Karnataka government and the Airports Authority holds 13 per cent each.
