Passengers who travel frequently from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport or Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport are likely to witness a 22-fold increase in their user charges, which are part of an air ticket, the news portal reported. Economic times on December 1, 2025.
According to the agency’s report, this increase in user rates occurs following an order from the Telecommunications Dispute Settlement and Appeal Tribunal (TDSAT), which redefined the formula for calculating air fares between the years 2009 and 2014.
As a result of this court order, two of India’s largest airports now owe more than $50,000 crore in dues for the period. According to the news, the amount owed will be collected in the form of passenger taxes, landing and parking fees, which in turn makes air tickets more expensive for passengers.
However, the court’s order has been challenged in the Supreme Court by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), as well as domestic and foreign airlines, including Lufthansa, Air France and Gulf Air. A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Nilay Vipinchandra Anjaria will hear the case on Wednesday, the report said.
What can change for passengers?
People aware of the development said eastern time that if the order comes into force, the user development fee (UDF) imposed on domestic passengers at Delhi airport could increase to $1,261 of $129. For international passengers, the fare increases to $6,356 of $650. At Mumbai airport, this can increase to $3,856 of $175 for domestic passengers, now $13,495 of $615 for international travelers.
TDSAT is the appellate tribunal that handles disputes and appeals related to the economic regulation of telecommunications and airports.
Following the development, government officials expressed concern that such a significant increase in charges would negatively impact passenger growth.
“Regardless of the merits of the order, passengers should not become victims of protracted legal battles between airports and airlines,” a government official told ET. “This will be a huge blow to passengers as there will be a massive increase in ticket prices overnight. Airports are natural monopolies and airlines will have no option but to pass on charges to passengers,” the official said.
The dispute began almost twenty years ago, when the initial phase of airport privatization took place in 2006. While AERA fixes airport charges for five-year slots based on the operator’s investments and revenues, it was not established until April 2009. This was about three years after ownership of the airport passed from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to DIAL and MIAL. DIAL is affiliated with GMR Group, while MIAL, now managed by Adani Group, was owned by GVK at that time.
