Anshul Dhamija/TNN
 
Bangalore, May 21: Good news for frequent flyers. Soon, they won’t need to queue up in front of the counter that collects the user development fee (UDF) at Bengaluru International Airport.

Following a directive from the civil aviation ministry, BIAL, the promoters of BIA, have decided to include the UDF in the ticket price. Instead of passengers paying the fee at a separate counter at the entrance of the airport, respective airlines will collect the fee — Rs 260 — on behalf of the airport under the new arrangement. Now, only the international UDF of Rs 1,070 is factored into the ticket.

This decision was taken by BIA’s top management on Wednesday. BIAL officials said, “We have decided to include the domestic UDF in the ticket as in the case of the international UDF. We are now in talks with airlines to ensure that this happens as soon as possible.’’ BIA would now have to inform all airlines about the change in payment structure so that airlines can in turn incorporate the charge as part of the tax component of the ticket. Additionally, all travel agents would now have to reboot their systems. There have been discussions on this issue between the ministry and BIA officials. Officials said the ministry had told BIA to include domestic UDF in the ticket so as to not inconvenience passengers.

Till now, the airport has been collecting an ad hoc figure as UDF; the amount may be reviewed by the new government. For now, BIA has many counters for UDF collection at the terminal. It has even given travellers payment options via debt/credit and cash.