GREATER NOIDA, May 9 -- Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh has flagged high User Development Charges (UDC) on flyers boarding or deboarding aircraft at Noida International Airport (NIA) in comparison to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport and requested the aviation ministry and Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to lower the charges to help build passenger confidence. "I have written to the ministry of civil aviation and also to the Uttar Pradesh government so that this issue is taken up urgently by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), which has fixed the high UDF, inflating the ticket prices," Singh told HT on Friday. The MLA said on Wednesday, IndiGo released the schedule for its flights operating from NIA, and according to the ticket prices displayed, the airfare from Lucknow to Jewar is approximately Rs.5,072, whereas flights from Lucknow to Delhi Airport are available between Rs.3,600 and Rs.4,300. He said, according to the tariff structure at NIA, an international flyer is charged a UDC of Rs.980 for departure and Rs.420 for arrival. For the domestic flyer, the charges are Rs.490 for departure and Rs.210 for arrival. However, at IGI, the UDC for international flyers is Rs.345 for arrival and Rs.810 for departure, and for domestic flyers, the UDC is Rs.56 and Rs.129, respectively. The MLA said the high prices are concerning, as NIA has been envisioned as an alternative, modern, and accessible airport. "If ticket prices remain higher than Delhi airport, it may adversely affect the airport's competitiveness," said Singh, adding that Noida airport is yet to get metro connectivity, rapid rail access, and other multi-modal transportation infrastructure. He said the Value Added Tax on Aviation Turbine Fuel in UP is merely 1%, whereas in Delhi it is approximately 25%. There was no response from the NIA spokesperson when contacted. However, NIA nodal officer Shailendra Bhatia told HT that UDF generally remains high at a new airport and will later be reduced....