Shop till you fly Delhi airport retail spend can save user fees

New Delhi: Passengers flying in and out of the Delhi airport could be relieved of paying user fees by 2035 if travellers continue to dine and shop as frequently as they are doing.

Airport charges are determined in India through a process wherein 30% of non-aeronautical revenue like retail shops, lounges, and food courts are used to cross-subsidise aero revenue such as landing, parking and user fees.

“We are already subsidising 50% of passenger charges. At some point of time, say in the next ten years, non-aeronautical income will go to the extent that user development fees will become zero,” Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO of Delhi Airport told ET in an interview.

In March, the airport revised passenger charges. While the User Development Fee (UDF) for domestic passengers was kept unchanged at ₹129, it saw a sharp increase for departing passengers on international flights to ₹650 for economy class (a 403% rise) and ₹810 for business class (527% rise) from ₹129.

A large share of revenue-about 57%-is currently generated from non-aero activities.

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This includes retail and duty-free sales, rentals, advertisements, food and beverages, and cargo and ground handling activities. Cargo and ground handling are aeronautical activities but they are globally classified as non-aero.”Passenger charges would have doubled if we hadn’t increased our non-aeronautical income,” Jaipuriar said.

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