Air travel from Delhi gets costlier from today

Air travel is all set to get costlier for those flying in and out of Delhi. The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) has decided to raise the User Development Fee by a whopping 346%. This comes into effect from Tuesday.

This means those taking domestic flights will have to shell out anything between Rs 195 to Rs 462 depending on the distance travelled. For international fliers, the amount will range between Rs 699 to over Rs 1,000. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has justified the decision to hike user development charges at Delhi airport from Tuesday. "The AERA is a judicial authority. They had to revise it in 2009. They decide it for five years. They have to recover five years' tax in two years. That could be one of the reasons for the steep hike," Singh said.