After proposal of increment in User Development Fees (UDF) by Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, run by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), a consortium led by the GMR Group, has also announced a hike in UDF.

According to DIAL, the departing international passengers travelling in economy class will have to pay ₹650 as the UDF, which is a 400% hike from the existing fees, as per reports.

The fees for domestic passengers have not been hiked, and stays at ₹129.

Earlier, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) submitted a proposal to increase the UDF to the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA). MIAL intends to charge ₹325 (currently ₹0) from domestic passengers and ₹650 (currently ₹187) from international passengers.

However, MIAL has also proposed a 35 per cent reduction in the landing and parking charges at its facility for the fourth control period (FY2024-2029), as per the AERA website.

Notably, the IGI airport was in the news earlier for increased bird hits at the airport.

The Delhi High Court agreed to examine a public interest litigation (PIL) highlighting the issue of rising encounters of birds/wildlife with aircraft at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. 

Issuing notice, a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela sought responses from the Centre, Airports Authority of India and others in the matter within six weeks.

“The encounter of birds/wildlife with aircraft at the IGI Airport does not only pose a threat to the life and safety of the passengers in the aircraft but also to the residents of the neighbouring areas in the event of an aircraft crash,” the plea said.

As per the petition, during the period of 2018-2023, the total number of bird strikes at the IGI Airport, stood at 705 incidents, outnumbering combined bird strike incidents reported across 29 airports in six different states.

It added that the “primary reason for the occurrence of such incidents is on account of the presence of slaughterhouses, meat shops, dairy farms and environmental pollution around the IGI Airport”.

After hearing the submissions, the bench issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Airports Authority of India, the Delhi government and other respondents.

The PIL seeks directions to authorities to take immediate and effective measures to reduce Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard [BASH] and implement the Bird Avoidance Model [BAM] at Delhi Airport, the absence of which has resulted in serious accidents in the past.

(with inputs from syndicated feed)