According to reports from Business Standard and Mint, passengers flying into Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport will have to start paying a User Development Fee (UDF) starting September 1, 2026, as announced by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) on Thursday. The new tariff structure introduces a UDF for arriving passengers while reducing the fee for departing passengers under the aeronautical tariff approved by AERA. The revised UDF charges will apply to tickets issued on or after September 1, 2026, with the fee determined according to the passenger's date of travel. As per The Hindu BusinessLine, the tariff document covers the fourth control period from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2031. A BIAL spokesperson confirmed that these rates will remain applicable until August 2029, following which the tariff will undergo modification based on the completion of key projects including Terminal 2 Phase 2 and associated airside/landside facilities. According to Mint, this represents the first time such a proposal has been cleared for any private airport operator in the country, marking a significant departure from existing practices. The approach mirrors the recent changes implemented at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, where AERA has adopted similar principles of splitting charges between arriving and departing passengers.
As reported by Business Standard and Mint, from September 1, domestic passengers arriving at Bengaluru airport will pay a UDF of ₹125 per passenger, while international arriving passengers will pay ₹426. The tariff document covers the fourth control period from April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2031. The revised UDF charges will apply to tickets issued on or after September 1, 2026, with the fee determined according to the passenger's date of travel. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, the change effectively shifts Bengaluru airport's UDF model from one largely borne by departing passengers to a structure that also charges those arriving at the airport. The tariff document exempts certain categories from payment and collection of UDF, including children below two years, diplomatic passport holders, and on-duty airline crew, including sky marshals and crew travelling on the particular flight, though this exemption does not extend to deadheading crew or ground personnel. As per Mint, this would be the first time that such a proposal has been cleared for any private airport operator in the country.
According to Business Standard and Mint, for passengers flying out of Bengaluru, the domestic UDF will be ₹300, down from the existing ₹550, representing a 45.5% reduction. The international UDF will fall to ₹997 from the current ₹1,500, marking a 33.5% decrease. From May 1, 2030, the UDF for domestic passengers will fall to ₹160 for departures and ₹65 for arrivals, with these rates applicable until March 31, 2031. For international passengers, the corresponding charges will be ₹854 and ₹366 respectively. The revised tariff structure will take effect from September 1, 2026, and remain applicable through March 2031. According to Mint, despite undertaking a massive expansion project, the combined domestic UDF under the new structure will be ₹425 compared with the existing ₹550 charged to a departing domestic passenger, while the combined international UDF will be ₹1,423 compared with the existing ₹1,500 charged to a departing international passenger. This approach mirrors the changes implemented at Hyderabad airport, where AERA has cut domestic departure UDF to ₹515 from ₹750 and international departure UDF to ₹1,030 from ₹1,500.
The revised tariff structure significantly reduces costs for round-trip passengers despite the new arrival charges. According to Moneycontrol and Mint, a domestic passenger starting and ending a journey in Bengaluru will pay a total UDF of ₹425 for a round trip, compared with ₹550 earlier, a reduction of ₹125. Similarly, international passengers will pay a combined UDF of ₹1,423, which is ₹77 lower than the earlier ₹1,500. This reduction occurs because the departure UDF for domestic passengers has been cut by 45.5% to ₹300 from ₹550, while the new arrival charge of ₹125 is offset by the lower departure fee. The UDF is collected from passengers through the airline ticket and subsequently passed on to the airport, meaning the change does not represent an increase in an airline's underlying operating cost. As per Mint, even after the major expansion projects are brought into the tariff structure, the resulting UDF would remain below today's ₹550 domestic and ₹1,500 international charges. The approach mirrors the changes at Hyderabad airport, where domestic passengers will pay a total UDF of ₹515 for a round trip, compared with ₹750 earlier, a reduction of ₹235, while international passengers will see a combined UDF of ₹1,030, which is ₹470 lower than the earlier ₹1,500.
The revised tariff introduces a significant change in how Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) will recover costs for major infrastructure projects through an Incremental Aggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) framework. According to Mint, AERA has allowed three large airport projects to be treated separately under its incremental aggregate revenue requirement approach, with the airport's proposed over ₹18,600 crore capex to be spread over this five-year period. The three approved projects include the Eastern Connectivity Tunnel (ECT) with an additional UDF of ₹15 per domestic departing passenger and ₹26 per international departing passenger (effective from August 1, 2029), the T2 Phase 2 apron with an additional ₹20 domestic departure UDF (effective from August 1, 2029), and the T2 Phase 2 terminal with incremental UDF of ₹166 for domestic departing passengers, ₹70 for domestic arriving passengers, ₹173 for international departing passengers and ₹73 for international arriving passengers (effective from May 1, 2030). As per Mint, the tariff shall become applicable only from the effective date to be notified by the Authority through an Addendum after the airport operator submits certification confirming completion, commissioning and putting the project to use for airport users. This approach prevents passengers and airlines from paying upfront for infrastructure that is yet to become operational, while linking tariff recovery to actual project delivery.
The lower UDF comes as Bengaluru International Airport embarks on a major expansion programme with significant investment commitments. BIAL has proposed an investment programme of about ₹18,635 crore for the fourth control period, with capacity expected to rise substantially by 2031. The airport handled 48.16 million passengers in FY26. According to Moneycontrol, international passengers made up just 4.2 percent of the total passenger traffic and 15 percent of the air traffic movements (ATM) at Bengaluru airport. In FY26, the airport saw 7.23 million international passengers and just over 42,800 international ATMs, with 24 percent growth in international passengers and 22 percent growth in international ATMs. In FY2025-26, as reported by Mint, Bengaluru airport saw 44.47 million passengers, up 6.2% year-on-year, with domestic passengers at 37.24 million, up 3.3% and international passengers at 7.23 million, up 23.9%. Airlines are free to change their base fares depending on demand, capacity, competition, fuel prices and other commercial factors, with analysts noting that UDF revision itself does not provide a strong basis for fare increases. The approach mirrors changes at Hyderabad airport, where GMR Airports had proposed about ₹14,000 crore of capital expenditure across its airports from FY27 to FY31, with major projects including the Northern Runway and Northern Precinct Development works scheduled for commissioning on 30 September 2029.
