Foreign airlines away from Navi Mumbai, Noida airports for now | Here’s why

New Delhi: Foreign airlines may not start their services in two of India’s newest airports soon, including Noida International Airport and Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). Unlike domestic carriers, foreign airlines are far more selective when choosing to fly from new airports.

As per reports, the factors leading to delays in services by foreign aircraft are: higher airport charges, limited domestic feed, and comparatively underdeveloped connectivity on route economics. Notably, for foreign airlines, passenger charges, operating costs, and network connectivity play important roles in determining whether the route is commercially viable or not.

Airlines are mostly sensitive to charges at airports

According to Moneycontrol, airlines are mostly sensitive to charges at airports. When a new airport come into being, the user development fees (UDFs) and aeronautical charges are higher for operators to recover the investments made in infrastructure development. Even as the UDFs are paid by passengers and collected by airlines, they result in increasing the cost of travel. Both NIA and NMIA have the highest approved UDFs currently in India.

Notably, in NIA, international passengers are required to pay a UDF of Rs 980, as against Rs 650 for economy-class passengers departing from Delhi. This gap is far greater in Mumbai. The international passengers at NMIA is required to pay the UDF of Rs 1,225. This is nearly double the Rs 615 charged for economy-class passengers departing from Mumbai’s international airport.

‘International airlines build schedules around hub-and-spoke networks’

“International airlines typically build schedules around hub-and-spoke networks. They prefer airports where they can maximise aircraft utilisation, benefit from strong connecting traffic and interline arrangements, and operate multiple daily frequencies,” Moneycontrol quoted a Mumbai-based aviation consultant as saying.

While Air India Express started operating flights between Navi Mumbai and Abu Dhabi in mid-July, it operates three weekly services at the moment. A number of foreign carriers depend on domestic feed beyond Mumbai and Delhi for better aircraft load factors.