Airport Departure Tax At Bombay
 

I am going to India next month in CO BusinessFirst. Two years ago when I was there, when we were flying out of Bombay, at the check in desk they made us pay a $50 per a person User Development Fee, for what I assume was to pay for the expansion of the airport. Does anyone know if they are still charging this fee, and if it is a flat fee or varies based on class of service? Thanks

I haven't had to pay a separate UDF at BOM in years now. They used to collect something called a "departure tax" until several years ago but now all such charges should be collected with your ticket fare and not separately at the airport.

Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mangelore are some of the newer airports which charge UDF .
Mumbai didnt charge earlier but am not sure now..

Mumbai airport has been charging UDF since 2009, but the fee is only INR 600 (about $14) per person for an international flight, and its normally included in your ticket price.

If you were charged $50 per person, that sounds a bit dodgy!

i agree....

It is a pretty common scam among the check-in staff at Mumbai airport. You probably got a fake receipt too with lots of rubber stamps.

Yup. Sounds like a scam. I have flown CO BF out of BOM in 2008/9. Did not pay anything extra at check-in.


I suggest the OP should call CO and tell them about their experience.

What's the best way to defuse this scam in your experience? Presumably they could just refuse to check you in without a bribe...

they can't refuse to check you in because they would have to justify that action....

Hmmm i wish we had someone who has flown recently because I know for a fact we paid the fee in Aug 2008 and I did think it sounded like a scam because $50 USD in india is alot of money but it was at the check in desk and they charged it on the credit card. I dunno what would happen if you just refused to pay it, or if you simply checked in online before your flight and by passed the airport check in. Any ideas?

They can delay you until after the check-in deadline and then pretend you showed up late.

Be assertive and insist on speaking to an airline manager. The less likely it seems that you will fall for the scam, the more likely they will concede sooner rather than later and check you in.

again, that's not something they can do or would risk doing....

+1..

Hmm.. if they charged it on a CC then its something else IMO.. I have travelled frequently thru BOM in earlier years and never faced this kinda scam.. Its too risky for check in staff to resort to this. Have sometimes heard them allowing xx kilos of excess check in baggage without a receipt and some underhand money but this is something new I have heard..

Not to you who is clearly a well traveled Indian, but this is the kind of scam they pull on flustered goras all the time in third world countries.

i have 'gora' clients coming into india all the time....i have never heard any one of them complain about something like this....