Fliers at Delhi airpot could be made to pay X-ray baggage fee from February 1

In a four-page order dated January 10, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) said that DIAL can levy X-ray baggage charges from February 1.

Delhi airport operator Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) will start levying X-ray baggage charges ranging from ₹110 to ₹880 per aircraft flying on domestic routes from next month.

Passengers flying out from the Delhi airport may soon have to shell out up to ₹50 as airlines are expected to pass on the X-ray baggage charges. (HT File / Representative Image)

For international flights, the charge would be $209.55 for wide-body planes and $149.33 for narrow-body aircraft, according to an Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) order.

With the decision, air passengers flying out from the Delhi airport would have to shell out up to ₹50 as airlines are expected to pass on the X-ray baggage charges.

In a four-page order dated January 10, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) said that DIAL can levy X-ray baggage charges from February 1.

An airline official said X-ray baggage charges would be passed on to passengers.

“A passenger -- who takes a domestic flight -- is unlikely to pay more than ₹5 as ‘X-ray baggage charge’. On an international flight, the per passenger charge would be not more than ₹50,” a source said.

According to the order, the charge would be USD 209.55 (around ₹14,908) on wide-body aircraft.

Assuming that a wide-body plane has more than 300 seats, the additional charge per passenger would be not more than ₹50.

For a narrow-body plane flying on international routes, the charge would be USD 149.33 (around ₹10,624).

On domestic routes, the charge would be ₹110 for a plane with up to 25 seats and ₹220 for an aircraft having 26-50 seats.

The charge would be ₹495 for planes with 51-100 seats, ₹770 for 101-200 seater aircraft and the amount would be ₹880 for those having more than 200 seats.

Taking into account the charges and number of seats, each passenger would have to shell out a marginal amount that is less than ₹5.

“DIAL will bill airlines the X-ray baggage charges per domestic and international flight as per the AERA order from February 1, 2019. This will not be billed to passengers through airlines rather it would be cost to airlines only,” a DIAL spokesperson said.

The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) is a consortium that is majority-owned by the GMR group.