Domestic User Development Fee Now Payable at Hyderabad Airport

Just to add to the expense of air travel in India, domestic passengers will now have to pay a 375 rupee ($9) user development fee when flying from the new Hyderabad airport. This is in addition to a 225 rupee ($5.50) passenger service fee, payable for security and infrastructure at the new airport, and a host of other taxes including the fuel surcharge.

International passengers flying out of the Hyderabad airport have been paying a 1,000 rupee ($25) user development fee since the airport was opened in late March 2008. A similar international user development fee is also levied at the new Bangalore airport, and it's expected a domestic fee will be put in place as soon as approval is obtained from the aviation ministry.

The additional costs for domestic flights from these airports, coupled with costly taxi fares to and from the airports, make air travel an unattractive option for short distance travel from Bangalore and Hyderabad. Many people are now preferring to take the train.