Government to increase fee for regional air connectivity scheme

Mumbai/New Delhi, Nov 16 (PTI) The government is set to increase regional air connectivity fee to Rs 10,000 per flight from airlines operating flights on major routes. The move will come into effect from January 1, after which air travel will become costlier.

This information was given in a notification. At present, this fee is Rs 5,000 per flight, which will increase to Rs 15,000 by April 1 next year.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation started charging this fee from December 2016 for the regional air connectivity scheme ‘UDAN’. As of November 1 this year, 451 UDAN routes were operational and more such routes are expected to be operational in the coming years.

An airline industry official said that once the fee hike comes into effect, air travel rates will go up by up to Rs 50 per person.

The notification issued last month said that the central government has decided to revise the fee and it will be increased to Rs 10,000 per flight from January 1 to March 31, 2023, Rs 15,000 per flight from April 1, 2023 to April 30, 2027.