Noida: The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) has announced user development fees for Noida International Airport, matching the ad hoc aeronautical tariff it approved last Aug. Domestic departure charges have been set at Rs 490 and international at Rs 980, while arrival fees stand at Rs 210 and Rs 420, respectively. The tariff will remain in effect until March 31 next year.The announcement comes after the user development fee (UDF) rates came under scrutiny. IndiGo, the first airline to announce flights from Noida, flagged last week that the interim charges were several times higher than those at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport — domestic departure rates at IGI stand at Rs 129 and arrivals Rs 56, international departures at Rs 650 and arrivals Rs 275. The airline warned that the differential tariff could make flying from Noida costlier than Delhi, ultimately hurting footfall at the new airport.Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh separately wrote to the Prime Minister, chief minister, Union civil aviation minister and UP chief secretary on May 8, seeking a reassessment of the charges. In his letter, Singh said the proposed fee structure “appears to be contrary to public interest” at the initial stage.UDF is levied on passengers by AERA to recover infrastructure and operational costs, and is added to the airfare.Yamuna International Airport Private Ltd, Noida airport’s operator, proposed much higher charges in March — Rs 653 for domestic departures and Rs 1,200 for international departures. But AERA approved the lower rates on Wednesday following a review, while also allowing a variable tariff structure, which allows UDF charges to be revised each financial year. By 2030-31, domestic departure fees are projected to rise to Rs 693 and arrival fees to Rs 297, while international departure charges will reach Rs 1,461 and arrival charges Rs 626.Landing charges for aircraft have been fixed at Rs 725 per metric tonne for domestic flights and Rs 1,088 per MT for international flights for this fiscal year, rising gradually to Rs 1,081 and Rs 1,622, respectively, by 2030-31. Parking charges for all aircraft — domestic and international — will be free for the first two hours, Rs 25 for the next two hours, and Rs 50 beyond four hours.NIAL nodal officer Shailendra Bhatia said the AERA order cleared the way for commercial operations to begin from June 15. The airport, officials said, projects total passenger traffic of 59.4 lakh in 2026-27, with domestic flyers accounting for 57 lakh, or 95%, and international passengers at 2.4 lakh. Cargo handling is estimated at 1,12,707 metric tonnes — 79,390 domestic and 33,316 international — with 43,188 air traffic movements projected for the year, comprising 40,458 domestic and 2,730 international.Meanwhile, IndiGo on Wednesday lowered fares on several routes from Noida following concerns over ticket prices running significantly above those from IGI. The airline’s portal showed the Noida-Lucknow fare at Rs 3,394 for June 15, which is on par with IGI, against an earlier listing of more than Rs 5,000. The Noida-Bengaluru fare for June 15 was listed at Rs 7,721, compared with Rs 8,910 from Delhi.
