New Delhi, Aug. 25 -- Passengers arriving at Hyderabad airport will have to pay a user development fee (UDF) from 1 September, a first for the airport, as the tariff regulator changes how operators recover infrastructure costs by splitting the charge between arriving and departing passengers.

The cost of a new airport (asset) can be recovered through UDF only after it is ready and brought into operation, not while it's under construction. The order mirrors the approach of the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) a week earlier for Bengaluru airport.

In its 24 August order, AERA fixed the UDF for domestic passengers arriving at Hyderabad at Rs.220 and international arriving passengers at Rs.440. The UDF for departing pa...