The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA)has revised the User Development Fee (UDF) structure at Bengaluru International Airport, introducing charges for both arriving and departing passengers. Under the revised tariff structure, departing domestic passengers will pay Rs 300, while departing international passengers will be charged Rs 997.

The revised UDF structure will come into effect from September 1, 2026. Until then, the existing UDF for departing domestic and international passengers will continue. The new rates of Rs 300 for departing domestic passengers, Rs 125 for arriving domestic passengers, Rs 997 for departing international passengers and Rs 426 for arriving international passengers will remain applicable until August 2029, after which the tariff will be modified based on the completion of key projects.

Under the new structure, the UDF for departing domestic passengers has been fixed at Rs 300, while arriving domestic passengers will pay Rs 125. For international passengers, the UDF will be Rs 997 for departing passengers and Rs 426 for arriving passengers. This means the combined UDF will be Rs 425 for domestic passengers, compared with the existing Rs 550 charged to a departing domestic passenger, while the combined international UDF will be Rs 1,423, compared with the existing Rs 1,500.

AERA has also revised landing charges, fixing them at Rs 442 per metric tonne for domestic flights and Rs 652 per metric tonne for international flights during the five-year control period.

For the first time, AERA has introduced an incremental Average Revenue Requirement (ARR) framework. Under this system, the cost of major capital expenditure projects will not be recovered from passengers before the facilities become operational.

Instead, the airport operator will be allowed to recover the cost through an incremental tariff only after the respective projects are completed, commissioned and put into use.

The regulator said the move will protect passengers from paying for infrastructure that is not yet available while also encouraging the airport operator to complete major projects on time.

Among the high-value projects covered under the framework are the Eastern Cross Taxiway (ECT), T2 Phase 2 Terminal and T2 Phase 2 Apron. Their incremental tariff recovery is expected to begin only after the projects are completed, with the recovery scheduled to come in the fourth year of the control period, 2029-30.

Domestic passengers make up around 84 per cent of Bengaluru airport’s total passenger traffic. BIAL said the introduction of UDF for both arriving and departing passengers is consistent with the approach adopted at other newly launched and major airports in India. The combined domestic UDF under the new structure will be Rs 425, lower than the existing Rs 550, while the combined international UDF will be Rs 1,423 against the existing Rs 1,500.

The regulator also considered a baseline ARR of Rs 14,604.31 crore, against BIAL’s proposed Rs 41,398.93 crore, for the fourth control period.