New Delhi, Mar 6 (PTI) Public Accounts Committee Chairman K C Venugopal on Thursday said exorbitant airfares during festival and peak seasons are not at all acceptable, and urged aviation regulator DGCA to control such spikes in ticket rates.

Venugopal, who along with PAC members visited the Delhi airport, also flagged concerns about increasing User Development Fee (UDF) at airports and said the issue will be thoroughly examined by the panel.

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Apart from the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), they also visited Kherki Daula Toll Plaza and Dwarka Expressway in the national capital, and held discussions with the officials concerned.

Talking to PTI videos after the airport visit, Venugopal said, "one of the most important issues which we raised today is (about) the exorbitant ticket rates in festival seasons and peak seasons (that) are not at all acceptable. DGCA has to control (it). There are... provisions to control these exorbitant fare hikes".

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There have been persisting concerns about steep increases in airfares during festival and peak seasons.

Venugopal, who had also served as Minister of State for Civil Aviation during the UPA regime, said the panel is discussing the fees, tariffs, and tolls on national highways and airports, especially UDF, which are going to affect the common man in a bigger way.

"We are conducting a thorough examination of all these things. As part of the process, Venugopal said they visited Delhi airport and held a meeting with airport authorities and civil aviation ministry officials. Our major concern is reports of an increase in UDF (User Development Fee), which will pose a bigger problem for common people.

"We are raising our concerns and talking to the concerned ministry to not take such steps," he said.

There are concerns in various quarters regarding UDF levied by airport operators amid rising air traffic.

UDF is considered as a revenue-enhancing measure to bridge any revenue shortfall so that the airport operator concerned can get a fair share of return on investment.

Meanwhile, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which operates IGIA, has proposed differential UDF pricing for embarking and disembarking passengers for the fourth control period FY2024-25 to FY2028-29. The proposals for the period are currently being examined by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA).

Last month, during a stakeholders' consultation meeting related to Delhi airport tariffs, AERA Chairperson SKG Rahate had mentioned that it is not right to say that UDF charged by airports plays a significant role in exorbitant airfares.

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