Flying into Hyderabad airport to get costlier as GHIAL proposes arrival fee from September

Passengers arriving at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad may soon have to pay a User Development Fee (UDF), a charge that has so far largely been levied only on departing travellers, if a proposal submitted by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) to the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) receives approval.

A passenger flying to Hyderabad from another city could end up paying airport fees at both ends of the journey. The UDF would continue to be collected as part of the airline ticket, similar to the existing departure fee. As part of its Annual Tariff Proposal (ATP) for the fourth control period from FY 2027 to FY 2031, GHIAL has proposed splitting the UDF between departing and arriving passengers.

Under the proposal, domestic passengers departing from Hyderabad airport would pay a UDF of ₹580, while those arriving would pay ₹170. For international passengers, the proposed UDF is ₹1,150 on departure and ₹350 on arrival. The charges would apply to tickets issued on or after September 1, 2026, if approved by AERA.

According to GHIAL, the proposed change is necessary as Hyderabad airport prepares for a major expansion to cater to rapidly growing passenger traffic. The operator said passenger numbers at RGIA are expected to reach 51 million passengers per annum (MPPA) by FY31, requiring substantial infrastructure augmentation. It plans to invest around ₹13,975 crore over the next three to four years to develop a new passenger terminal and an additional runway. The airport said continuation of the UDF is essential to generate internal accruals required to fund the capital expenditure.

The proposal also envisages a reduction in UDF during the fifth year (April 1, 2030 to March 31, 2031) of the control period. Under this, the departure UDF for domestic passengers would reduce to ₹400, while the arrival UDF would fall to ₹120. For international passengers, the departure UDF would decrease to ₹880 and the arrival UDF to ₹260.

The document clarifies that the UDF would be applicable only to tickets issued after the implementation date and that several categories of passengers would continue to remain exempt. These include children below two years of age, holders of diplomatic passports, airline crew on duty, personnel travelling on official duty aboard Indian Armed Forces aircraft, passengers on United Nations peacekeeping missions, transit passengers travelling onward within 24 hours on the same ticket, and passengers who are rerouted because of technical or weather-related disruptions.