Hyderabad: Flying out of Hyderabad to any Indian city is set to get cheaper, with the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) reducing the User Development Fee (UDF) for domestic departing passengers at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport from Rs 750 to Rs 515.But there is a catch. For the first time, domestic passengers arriving in Hyderabad will also have to pay a UDF. Until now, passengers flying into the city were not charged the fee. From Sept 1, 2026, domestic arriving passengers will pay Rs 220 as UDF. While the UDF for departing passengers will start at Rs 515, it will rise to a maximum of Rs 670 by 2029, still lower than the existing Rs 750 charge.Under AERA’s final tariff order for Hyderabad airport’s fourth control period, effective from Sept 1, 2026, to March 31, 2031, the domestic UDF for departing passengers has been fixed at Rs 515 for the first tariff year. International departing passengers will pay Rs 1,030, down from Rs 1,500. The UDF for arriving international passengers has been fixed at Rs 440 in the first tariff year.The domestic departing fee will rise to Rs 555 in 2027-28, Rs 620 in 2028-29 and Rs 670 between April and Oct 2029. It will then fall to Rs 415 for the remainder of 2029-30 and remain at that level in 2030-31.For international departing passengers, the fee will rise from Rs 1,030 in 2026-27 to Rs 1,085 in 2027-28, Rs 1,130 in 2028-29 and Rs 1,175 between April and Oct 2029. It will then fall to Rs 880 for November 2029-March 2030 before rising to Rs 915 in 2030-31. A similar tariff pattern will apply to arriving international passengers.Future expansion could add another UDF layerWhile the base UDF is coming down sharply in the first year of the new control period, passengers could face an additional UDF component once the proposed northern expansion of Hyderabad airport becomes operational.AERA has adopted an incremental ARR/user-pays approach for major projects. Under this mechanism, charges linked to high-value infrastructure can be recovered only after the relevant assets are commissioned and put into use.