GMR proposes distance-based user fees at Bhogapuram airport, doubling them by 2030–31

GMR Airports has proposed charging passengers at the new Bhogapuram airport near Visakhapatnam a user development fee (UDF) based on how far they fly. The fee would roughly double over five years, Mint reported, citing the company’s filings with the regulator.

The proposal is before the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA), which sets charges at major airports. The UDF is added to the price of every air ticket and collected by airlines for the airport operator.

What GMR wants

GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport, the GMR subsidiary that runs the airport, has proposed two rates for domestic flyers: for trips of up to 1,000 km, and for longer ones. It would be the first distance-based UDF in India.

• Departing domestic passengers: ₹1,000 (short trips) or ₹1,230 (long trips) in 2026–27, rising to ₹2,090 or ₹2,460 by 2030–31.
• Arriving domestic passengers: ₹400 or ₹530, rising to ₹890 or ₹1,050.
• International passengers: departures from ₹1,720 to ₹3,450, arrivals from ₹750 to ₹1,500.

Under an interim order, AERA has set flat fees of ₹835 for domestic departures and ₹355 for arrivals.

How it compares

For 2026–27, AERA set Navi Mumbai airport’s domestic UDF at ₹620 for departures. Bengaluru charges ₹300 and Mumbai ₹175, according to Mint.

The two sides

GMR told AERA on 5 November that the fees were needed to recover the revenue it is allowed to earn over the first five-year period. It said any cut in the UDF would mean raising other airport charges.

IndiGo, India’s largest airline, asked AERA on 31 October not to allow distance-based fees. It said combined fees for domestic flyers would be more than twice those at the old Visakhapatnam airport, and that higher charges cut demand. G. S. Bawa of the Air Travellers Association called the plan unfair to passengers.

The background

The airport’s first phase cost ₹5,640 crore, according to the Centre, and can handle 60 lakh passengers a year, double the 30 lakh the old airport handled in 2025–26. Scheduled flights at the old airport ended on 17 August 2026.

What’s next

AERA will decide on the charges after considering the comments.