The Karnataka Cabinet, which met here on Friday, permitted the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) to hike the User Development Fee charged on both domestic and international passengers.
A request to raise the State Government’s equity proposed by BIAL to meet the additional expenditure being incurred for expansion of the terminal has been rejected by the state Government and a hike in the UDF has instead been suggested. Presently, the UDF is Rs. 231 for a domestic passenger and Rs. 952 for an international passenger.
Minister for law and Parliamentary Affairs T.B. Jayachandra told presspersons after a meeting of the State Cabinet that BIAL had asked for an increase in the government’s equity ( Rs. 150 crore).
The Cabinet decided that the UDF can be raised while at the same time it should not hurt the passengers.
The UDF at Hyderabad is Rs. 430 for domestic passengers and Rs. 1, 00 for international passengers and the Karnataka government will convey to BIAL that the UDF should not be more than that charged by the Hyderabad airport.
