This Adani Group-owned airport set to become expensive for passengers in April
2 min read . Updated: 01 Mar 2023, 11:10 AM IST
Premium- Adani Group-owned Lucknow International Airport has proposed a hike in user development fees
If you are flying out of Lucknow, then get ready to shell out more money as the Adani Group-owned airport has proposed a hike in user development fees (UDF).
According to a report by Times of India, the Lucknow International Airport (LIAL) has proposed a "steep" hike in aeronautical charges like parking fees, and landing fees, from 1 April 2023. The fee hike will continue till April 1, 2025, to fund the ambitious development plan for the airport.
As per the TOI, the Adani Group has proposed raising the UDF per domestic departure from ₹192 to ₹1025 (excluding taxes). For international departure, the airport operator has planned to increase the fee from ₹561 to ₹2,756 (excluding taxes) until April 1, 2025.
Adani Group has proposed these new tariffs to Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA). The regulator will come out with the final tariff order which usually sees lower rates than the ones suggested by airport operators.
The Lucknow airport has also proposed tariff hikes for domestic and international cargo handling services.
The user development fee is paid directly by the passengers while the aero tariffs are levied on airlines. Again, the airline's airfares depend on the operating cost. Therefore, with this decision, the airfares are expected to go up in Lucknow-bound flights.
In 2020, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) handed over the Lucknow airport to the Adani group on lease for a period of 50 years.
In February 2019, the central government privatized six major airports of the country -- Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Guwahati. After a competitive bidding process, the Adani group won the rights to run all of them for 50 years.
The Airports Economic Regulator Authority will hold a stakeholder consultation on 7 March, reported the TOI. The final order related to new tariffs would be out after 5 April 2023.