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Flying out of Kolkata airport will become more expensive from February 16.
This follows the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) allowing the levy of a User Development Fee (UDF) of Rs 400 on every domestic passenger and Rs 1,000 on each passenger taking an international flight.
The financial burden on the passengers will increase further from April 1, 2014.
AERA has allowed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to further increase the fee from that date, whereby domestic passengers will pay Rs 424 while an international traveller will be charged Rs 1,060 from next April. The state-owned AAI operates and maintains the airport. At the start of financial year 2015, the UDF rate will be revised again — to Rs 449 for domestic passengers and Rs 1,124 for international.
Based on the traffic levels of 2011-12, the state-owned AAI would have earned about Rs 500 crore from the proposed UDF levies. During 2011-12, the airport handled 8.7 million domestic and 1.6 million international passengers.
In its presentation to AERA, the airport operator said it expects a 12 per cent increase in passenger traffic in 2011-12, and projected a 10 per cent growth in traffic till 2015-16.
The projections show that the airport hopes to handle 1.16 crore passengers in 2012-13, going up to 1.31 crore in 2013-14 and peaking at 1.67 crore passengers in 2015-16.
The decision to levy UDF comes days after President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the modernised airport on January 20. In addition, AERA also allowed an increase of 5 per cent over the prevailing cargo tariff from February 16. Further, it has also proposed a further 5 per cent increase at the beginning of fiscal 2014 and 2015.
Currently, Delhi imposes Rs 100 as user development fee on every domestic passenger while an international passenger pays Rs 600 when taking a flight out of the airport. Similarly, Mumbai airport charges the same amount from passengers flying out.
ashwini.phadnis@thehindu.co.in
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