Noida: A day after bookings opened, ticket prices for flights to and from Noida airport came under early scrutiny after Jewar BJP MLA Dhirendra Singh on Friday wrote letters to the PM and CM flagging a marked difference in fares with Delhi’s IGI Airport.The MLA highlighted that IndiGo’s Noida to Lucknow tickets were priced at Rs 6,556 on June 15, but the fares from IGI on the same date are around Rs 3,394 and urged govt to reduce proposed user development and passenger charges so that flying in and out of Noida isn’t costlier than IGIA.However, when TOI checked the airfares to the five cities — Lucknow, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jammu and Amritsar — on which flight operations are to resume from Noida in June, it found that the ticket prices were at par with IGIA on all dates till July 15. Only on June 15, the airlines’ Noida to Bengaluru airfare for June 15 was Rs 9,202, while the fare from IGI is Rs 8,910.The airlines’ official website also did not show flight data between Noida and Lucknow routes post June 15. The airline said there would be daily flights on the route from July 1.In an official statement, IndiGo had said that it would progressively introduce direct flights connecting Noida airport to more than 16 destinations, including key metro cities. The opening day will see flights to and from four cities, including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Amritsar. From June 16, along with these daily flights, IndiGo will begin a daily service to and from Jammu.From July 1 onwards, it will add daily flights to Navi Mumbai, Srinagar, Jodhpur, Dharamsala, Bhopal, Dehradun, Bareilly, Kishangarh, Jaipur, Pantnagar and Chandigarh.Pricing, sources said, is determined by a range of factors, not just user charges. Last year, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) approved an ad hoc UDF for Noida International Airport, allowing charges of Rs 490 and Rs 980 for departing domestic and international passengers, respectively, and Rs 210 and Rs 420 for arriving domestic and international passengers.In comparison, at IGI, the UDF for domestic passengers is fixed at Rs 129 for flying out and Rs 56 for flying in. For international passengers, the UDF is Rs 650 for economy class and Rs 810 for business class on embarking or flying out, while on disembarking or flying in, economy travellers pay Rs 275 and business class travellers Rs 345.Shailendra Bhatia, nodal officer of Noida International Airport Ltd (NIAL), said AERA is the competent authority to fix and revise the UDF. “Last year, they approved ad hoc UDF, based on that, the airline company started booking tickets. AERA is yet to issue a revised/final UDF list. If the final UDF is awaited, the ad hoc UDF will be applicable,” he said.Officials also said that airport charges are generally higher for new infrastructure projects as developers seek to recover their capital expenditure, while in the case of IGI Airport, the investment cost has already been recovered. The Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) tax in UP is only 1%, compared to nearly 25% in Delhi.“Airfares are dynamic in nature and may vary across routes based on multiple factors such as demand patterns, booking window, airport charges, operational considerations and overall market conditions at a given point of time,” an IndiGo spokesperson said.In his letter, the Jewar MLA said Noida airport is among the country’s most ambitious infrastructure projects and carries significant expectations for people in western Uttar Pradesh and the National Capital Region.“The airport has the potential to emerge as a major hub for investment, employment, industrial development and regional connectivity. However, the proposed fee structure at the initial stage appears to be contrary to public interest,” Singh said. “If ticket prices remain higher than Delhi Airport during the initial operational phase itself, it may impose an unnecessary financial burden on passengers and adversely affect the airport’s competitiveness.”Alok Singh, a resident of Sector Alpha 1 in Greater Noida, said Noida airport currently lacks an efficient public transport network. “In this condition, a large number of passengers will have to incur additional travel expenses to reach the airport if there is a pricing difference. In the initial days, the govt should offer discounts and encourage flyers to use Noida airport,” he said.
