BENGALURU: Be prepared to shell out more for your air travel from Bengaluru from October this year as Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (BIAL), operator of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), has proposed a steep hike in User Development Fee (UDF). The proposal has been submitted to the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) and is pending approval.
Now, the fee for domestic passengers is Rs 184 and for international flyers, it is Rs 839. AERA, after considering the fee hike put forth by BIAL, has proposed Rs 450 in first phase and Rs 555 in the later phase for domestic passengers. It has also considered a hike of Rs 1,350 and then Rs 2,220 for international passengers. AERA has put the fee hike on its website, inviting public comments.
Explaining the reason behind the hike, CEO and MD of BIAL Hari Marar told TNIE, “The tariff revision has come at a time when Kempegowda International Airport is about to complete and operationalise a massive Rs 13,000 crore expansion programme. This is further exacerbated by the fact that during the period of the recovery of this investment, traffic is at its lowest as a result of the ongoing pandemic.”