Panel moots removal of UDF

New Delhi: A Parliamentary Standing Committee has recommended immediate withdrawal of user development fee (UDF) in a bid to make air travel affordable in the country.
Citing the example of new airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad, the chairman of this 31-member committee on transport, tourism and culture, Mr Sitaram Yechury, said the UDF has rendered air travel from these airports costlier, both in terms of time and money.
Currently airlines charge Rs 375 and Rs 1,000 from domestic and international passengers respectively. “Withdrawal of UDF is particularly important in the context of policy objective to make air travel more affordable,” the committee said in its report.
The committee chairman said as both the airports are far away from cities, user development fee with high taxi or bus fares have compelled the passengers to use other means of transport such as road and trains for short distance destinations.
It has therefore recommended that UDF imposed on passengers should be withdrawn and it should not be imposed on passengers in any of the airports. In another significant recommendation, the committee has said being leading airport infrastructure provider the Airports Authority of India (AAI) should have a better say in the modernisation of airports in the country. The committee has recommended that any future Greenfield or Brownfield airport projects must be done under the management of AAI.
23/10/08 The Statesman

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Categories: Airports Oct 2008