Noida International Airport
Passengers hoping for cheap flights from the newly opened Noida International Airport may be in for a shock. It was believed that due to low tax on aviation fuel in Uttar Pradesh, tickets from here would be cheap, but due to high charges and fees at the airport, the fare could be as much or even higher than Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. Commercial flights are going to start at Noida International Airport from next month. But airlines and local representatives have expressed concern about the airport’s expensive tariffs and fees.
The benefit of low tax is not reaching the passengers
In Uttar Pradesh, only 1% VAT is levied on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), whereas in Delhi it is 25%. In such a situation, it was expected that flights from Noida Airport would be cheaper. But the passenger user charge and aeronautical fees at the new airport have been kept very high, due to which the benefit of low tax has almost been lost.
Ticket fare from Delhi and Noida is almost equal
Its effect is now visible in ticket prices also. IndiGo has announced its first flights from Noida airport and has kept the fares from both Delhi and Noida airports almost the same for June 24. The ticket for Bengaluru from both places is around Rs 8,910. Whereas the fare has been kept at Rs 6,129 for Hyderabad, Rs 6,999 for Jammu and Rs 3,499 for Amritsar.
IndiGo expressed objection
IndiGo has lodged a formal objection to this tariff structure with the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA). The airline says that due to higher charges, traveling from Noida airport may be costlier for passengers than Delhi airport. According to the airline, this will prevent passengers from choosing Noida airport and the purpose of this project made for NCR will be weakened.
Airline bid – Operation cost too high
IndiGo says that landing charges for large aircraft like Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 at Noida airport are 119% higher on domestic flights and 53% higher on international flights compared to Delhi airport. Apart from this, the User Development Fee (UDF) charged on domestic passengers is also more than four times.
The airline said that if we talk about a domestic round trip flight of Airbus A321 aircraft, it will cost an additional Rs 1.88 lakh compared to Delhi Airport. If an airline runs 15 round trip flights daily, the annual additional expenditure can reach around Rs 103 crore.
Airport operator came to the rescue
Rejecting these allegations, Noida Airport operator said that their tariff rates are at par with other new and big airports of the country. The operator says that the airport has been designed in such a way that processing is fast and the operating costs of the airlines remain low. The company said that about Rs 6,500 crore has been spent on the first phase of the airport and the tariffs have been fixed keeping in mind the recovery of investment in the long run.
The matter reached politics
This issue has now also taken a political color. BJP MLA from Jewar has raised questions on ticket prices and sought intervention from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. At present, the situation seems to be such that leaving aside the convenience of location, passengers do not seem to be getting any significant financial benefit from choosing Noida Airport.
