The fixing of the User Development Fee {UDF) at Rs 375 for each
departing domestic passenger by the Centre has come as a surprise for
the GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) on Monday
evening.

GHIAL had earlier represented to Ministry of Civil Aviation to fix UDF around Rs 725.

Since Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) had permitted the airport
operators to collect Rs 1,000 as User Development Fee (UDF) from
international passengers, the GHIAL was ready to scale down the
domestic UDF to Rs 725 per passenger.

The matter had been hanging fire for over two months. The UDF from
international passengers was being collected from June 11, 2008.

Almost every passenger taking international flights out of Hyderabad is
paying Rs. 1,000 or $ 25 as UDF at the Rajiv Gandhi International
Airport (RGIA).

A senior functionary said, “We received the communication from the
Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) after office hours. We will be
meeting on Tuesday to decide on the date.”

The company, which operates the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport
(RGIA) in Shamshabad was also expecting it to be around Rs 725 minimum.

During discussions with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, another
alternative that came up was the possible collection of different UDF
from passengers flying to different destinations within the state and
out of the State.