Passengers flying through Delhi and Mumbai may soon face sharply higher user charges after a recent order from the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). The tribunal’s decision reinterprets how airport tariffs should have been calculated between the 2008–09 and 2013–14 financial years, leading airport operators to claim a massive under-recovery they now seek to recoup through increased fees.
According to reports, the recalculation suggests the two private operators — Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL) and Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (MIAL) are owed over roughly $6.0 billion by this measure. To recover this sum, passengers may face steep increases in the user development fee (UDF), along with potential hikes in landing and parking charges for airlines.
If the order is carried out, domestic passengers at Delhi Airport could see their UDF climb from about $1.44-$14.09. International travelers may be charged approximately $7.26-$70.93. At Mumbai Airport, projected increases are even more dramatic: domestic fees could rise from about $1.95-$43.05, while international passengers might face charges up to around US $150.60, compared with the current $6.85.
The TDSAT ruling has been challenged by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), Indian carriers, and major global airlines, including Air France, Lufthansa, and Gulf Air. The matter is now before the Supreme Court of India, with Justices Aravind Kumar and Nilay Vipinchandra Anjaria scheduled to hear the case.
The fee dispute dates back to the 2006 privatization of the airports. When DIAL and MIAL took over from the previous public operator, there was inconsistent data about pre-handover investments. To address this, regulators adopted a notional valuation system called the Hypothetical Regulatory Asset Base (HRAB) to set tariffs for the first regulatory period.
Initially, AERA confined its tariff calculations to aeronautical assets such as runways and terminals. But the operators argued that non-aeronautical assets like duty-free shops, retail spaces, parking lots, and lounges should also be included. Though earlier rulings supported AERA’s approach, the operators pushed for a review, citing a 2011 communication from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
In July, TDSAT reversed its earlier stance, ruling that non-aeronautical assets rightfully belonged in the tariff base — leading to the recalculated shortfall and the proposed fee hikes. If the order stands, passengers could end up bearing much of the cost through substantially inflated fees.
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