Lower user development fee okayed for Navi Mumbai Airport

Mumbai: India’s airport tariff regulator has approved a lower-than-proposed user development fee (UDF) for the Navi Mumbai International Airport, cutting the operator’s projected revenue recovery for the 2025-30 control period and moderating charges at the country’s newest greenfield airport.

The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) Wednesday fixed the domestic UDF for departing passengers at ₹620 for FY28, lower than the ₹742 sought by Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL). International departing passengers will pay ₹1,225 against the ₹1,467 proposed by the airport operator, according to an AERA order, reviewed by ET.

By comparison, UDFs are significantly lower at India’s early privatized hubs. At Delhi’s GMR-run Indira Gandhi International Airport, departing domestic and international passengers pay ₹129 and ₹56, respectively, while Mumbai’s Adani-run Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport levies ₹175 and ₹75.


The regulator also reduced the airport’s aggregate revenue requirement (ARR) to ₹14,087 crore from the ₹28,290 crore proposed under NMIAL’s multi-year tariff proposal.

AERA said the revised ARR followed a “comprehensive analysis, prudence check and due diligence” of capital expenditure, operating expenses, non-aero revenues and rate of return assumptions. It also deferred 11.32% of the approved revenue recovery to the next tariff cycle between 2030 and 2035, saying “the move was aimed at moderating airport charges for passengers and airlines.”

Navi Mumbai airport, which was inaugurated in October 2025, began commercial operations on December 25 after delays in commissioning. The revised operational timeline also led the regulator to recast passenger traffic projections for the first control period.

“In view of the revised Commercial Operations Date (COD) of December 25, 2025, passenger traffic projections was realigned,” AERA said in its order. “Accordingly, domestic traffic for FY 2025-26 were moderated and assumed for a truncated operational period of three months, instead of ten months considered earlier in NMIAL’s submission.”

The regulator also revised assumptions linked to the airport’s proposed Phase III expansion. While NMIAL had projected Phase III construction to begin in FY27, AERA said the traffic trigger for expansion was likely to materialise later than anticipated, pushing construction assumptions to FY28 and likely completion to FY31. It directed NMIAL to undertake optimal asset utilisation measures to sweat existing terminal (T1) capacity.

Domestic passengers account for around 73% of projected traffic. “The rationalised and moderated UDF charges would significantly benefit domestic passengers,” AERA said. The regulator also approved a variable tariff plan aimed at incentivising airlines to add new routes and expand operations during its initial years.

A week earlier, AERA approved a 10% annual UDF increase at Zurich Airport-owned Noida International Airport, which begins operations from June 15. There, domestic departing passengers will pay ₹490 and arriving passengers ₹210. Navi Mumbai’s UDF remains higher than Noida’s and is among India's highest.