New Delhi, May 13 (PTI) Airports tariff regulator AERA has fixed the user development fee for the Noida International Airport at Rs 490 for departing domestic passengers and Rs 980 for departing international passengers.

The User Development Fee (UDF) is fixed for the 2026-27 period.

For arriving domestic passengers, the fee will be Rs 210, while for arriving international passengers, the amount will be Rs 420, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) said in a release on Tuesday.

The Noida International Airport (NIA), inaugurated on March 28, will start commercial operations on June 15.

The AERA said UDF for each departing domestic passenger has been fixed at Rs 490 per passenger, as against Rs 653 proposed by the airport operator YIAPL.

For each departing international passenger, the UDF is Rs 980, which is lower than the Rs 1,200 sought by the operator.

"These rates are the same as decided in the ad-hoc tariff order issued in August 2025," the AERA said.

The airport’s tariff regulator has approved the tariffs for the first control period (2026-2031), during which the UDF will gradually increase for departing as well as arriving domestic and international passengers.

Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd (YIAPL), a subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, under the public-private partnership, will be operating the airport.

The AERA said the fee fixed for NIA is comparable to the national average of UDF at major airports and also well within the range of UDF currently levied at non-major airports.

To encourage airlines to start new routes, increase flights and expand their network from the airport in the early years, AERA said it has allowed a Variable Tariff Plan (VTP) for the airport.

The plan will be mainly for landing and parking charges.

For the period from June 15, 2026, to March 31, 2027, the landing charges for aircraft will be Rs 725 per Metric Tonne (MT) for domestic flights and Rs 1,088 per MT for international flights.

The landing charges will gradually rise for domestic and international flights to up to Rs 1,081 and Rs 1,622, respectively in FY31 (April 1, 2030 to March 31, 2031).

In the current financial year ending March 31, 2027, AERA said the parking charges at the airport will be Rs 25 for the first two hours after the free parking period and Rs 50 beyond four hours.

The quantum will increase marginally during the five-year concession period that ends on March 31, 2031.

Amid concerns raised in certain quarters about airport charges, AERA said the Yield per Passenger (YPP) is usually higher for greenfield airports compared to mature brownfield airports.

YPP is used for determining airport charges and ensuring viable airport operations.

According to the watchdog, the tariff structure at a greenfield airport cannot be directly compared with established brownfield airports with large traffic volumes.

Greenfield airport has significant upfront investment to enable the airport infrastructure to reach readiness state for commercial operations together with ensuring compliance with all statutory obligations for safety and security, it added.

In 2030-31, the UDF for departing domestic and international passengers will be Rs 693 and Rs 1,461, respectively.

During that period, the UDF for arriving domestic and international passengers will be Rs 297 and Rs 626, respectively.

NIA, originally scheduled to commence passenger services in September 2024, is being developed in four phases along with a dedicated cargo terminal.

The 40-year concession period for the airport, whose code is 'DXN', started on October 1, 2021.

In the first phase with one runway and one terminal, the airport will have the capacity to handle 12 million passengers annually. On completion of the fourth phase, the passenger handling capacity will rise to 70 million per annum. PTI RAM IAS NB DR DR