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Bengaluru Airport Starts Charging Arriving Passengers a User Development Fee From September 2026
From 1 September 2026, Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru began levying a User Development Fee on arriving passengers for the first time, while cutting the fee charged on departures.
Sep 27, 2026 · BigTravel.in
Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru has restructured its User Development Fee (UDF) from 1 September 2026, under a revised tariff approved by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA). For the first time, the airport is charging a UDF to arriving passengers, a fee previously levied only on departures, while simultaneously lowering the departure charge.
What changed
Under the new structure, domestic passengers arriving at Bengaluru now pay a UDF of ₹125, and international arrivals pay ₹426, charges that did not exist before. In exchange, the domestic departure UDF has been cut from ₹550 to ₹300, according to reporting on the AERA-approved tariff order.
Why the airport says it made the change
The revised structure spreads the UDF, which funds airport infrastructure and expansion, across both arriving and departing passengers rather than loading it entirely onto those flying out, a model regulators have also been applying at other Indian airports going through tariff resets, including Hyderabad's, in the same period.
What it means for travellers
The UDF is typically built into the ticket price rather than collected separately at the airport, so most passengers will not notice a separate charge; the net effect depends on whether a given itinerary is weighted more toward the airport as an arrival or a departure point. Fliers connecting through Bengaluru on both legs of a journey may see comparatively little change overall.
This is reported to have taken effect from 1 September 2026; travellers should confirm current fees directly with their airline or on the airport's official website before travel, since charges built into fares can be revised again.
Traveller tips
- UDF charges are generally included in the ticket price rather than paid separately at the airport.
- The new arrival fee applies to both domestic and international passengers landing at Bengaluru, not just those departing.
- Similar UDF restructuring, cutting departure charges while adding or raising arrival fees, has also taken effect at Hyderabad's airport in 2026.
- Check your airline or the airport's official channels for the current fee schedule before booking, as regulatory tariff orders can be revised.
Where this is
Bengaluru, Karnataka