Delhi airport reduces fees

Flying out of Delhi has got cheaper with the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) revising airport development fees for both domestic and international passengers. From January 1, domestic and international travellers will be charged Rs 100 (instead of the current Rs 200) and Rs 600 (instead of Rs 1,300), respectively. The fee will remain in place till April 2016.

"Considering the lower rate of development fee, the period of levy has been extended by two years to ensure the amount of fee collected on an NPV basis remains unchanged. The levy will be periodically reviewed by AERA, considering the changes in interest rate and traffic,'' Delhi International Airport Limited said today.

The reduction in user fee follows the suggestion by civil aviation minister Ajit Singh to reduce airport charges and make air travel affordable. The government had proposed equity infusion by Airport Authority of India in Delhi and Mumbai airports and matching infusion by lead promoters of the airport projects. However with the promoters (GMR in case of Delhi airport) and GVK (in case of Mumbai airport) refusing to infuse funds the government suggested lowering of charges and increasing the collection period. In case of Mumbai Airport however the rate of ADF remains unchanged.