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As we all know, airlines have lots of fees.

In the United States, after you pay for your actual ticket, you may pay to choose your seat, check a bag, bring a carry-on bag onto the plane, etc. Technically, none of those fees are mandatory—you could sit wherever the airline puts you and just fly with a personal bag if you wanted (we won’t even get into the credit cards that pay for such fees or if you have status and simply don’t have to pay them).

U.S. taxes and fees

But then there are the fees and taxes that U.S. airlines make all of their customers pay. Depending on your flight, some of them may include (as taken from Delta Air Lines):

• 7.5% US Excise Tax
• $11.10 Travel Facilities Tax
• $5.00 US Federal Segment Fee
• Up to $4.50 Passenger Facility Charge
• $5.60 September 11th Security Fee
• $22.20 US International Transportation Tax
• $6.97 US Customers User Fee
• $3.83 US Immigration and Naturalization Fee
• Up to $349 International Taxes and Government or Airport-imposed fees
• Up to $650 Carrier-Imposed Surcharges

Carrier-imposed fees

In addition to airport fees and government taxes, airlines have their own fees, especially when the flight is paid for with points.

Other countries’ taxes and fees

Other countries (and sometimes other international airports) have their own taxes and fees.  A few examples include:

• All passengers on flights departing from Singapore Changi Airport must pay SG $8.00 to cover their Singapore Aviation Levy
• The UK applies an Air Passenger Duty to each passenger on international flights out of the UK. The amount varies on the distance traveled and the fare type.
• Passengers flying from German airports pay 15,53 euros per ticket, thanks to the Luftverkehrsabgabe aviation tax.
• Those flying internationally out of Japan must pay JPY 1,000 per departure as a National Tourist Tax.

IndiGo’s Cute Fee

Not long ago, a passenger of IndiGo, a low-cost carrier from India, noticed something on his bill called a “Cute fee.” He had never heard of it before, and he brought up other questions about the transparency of such fees (similar to what the government is trying to fix with US-based airlines, as well), so he asked IndiGo on Twitter (X. Whatever.)

It all started when Shrayansh Singh, a frequent flyer, and a self-described advocate, posted a screenshot of his IndiGo ticket on the social media site, asking about this so-called “Cute Fee,” which appeared as a charge of  Rs 50 (0.012 in US dollars) on his plane ticket. Keeping the conversation light, he asked if the airline charged passengers for being “cute” or if it believed its planes were “cute.” He also expressed frustration over other fees such as the “User Development Fee” and “Aviation Security Fee.”

Dear @IndiGo6E ,

1. What is this 'Cute Fee'? Do you charge users for being cute? Or do you charge because you believe that your aeroplanes are cute?

2. What is this 'User Development Fee'? How do you develop me when I travel in your aeroplane?

3. What is this 'Aviation… pic.twitter.com/i4jWvXh6UM

— Shrayansh Singh (@_shrayanshsingh) August 19, 2024

To their credit, IndiGo responded to Singh less than 10 minutes later. The Cute fee stands for

Common User Terminal Equipment

and is the amount charged for using metal detectors, escalators, and other airport equipment.

Isn't this a part of airport security? Aren't the metal detectors a property of the CISF, which is a security organisation of the govt. for the security of airports too?

The equipment being used at the airport, including the airport buildings itself, are public utility…

— Shrayansh Singh (@_shrayanshsingh) August 19, 2024

So we know what a Cute fee is now.

However, Singh followed up with more questions regarding taxes and fees and the fairness of charging for extras used by public utilities. These public utilities are supposed to be paid for by regular taxes, so why were people essentially being charged twice?

Other passengers chimed in too. Some agreed with Singh, while others sided with the airline.

“Airlines aren’t to blame here. The Cute Fee, User Development Fee, and Passenger Service Fee are all imposed by the Airport Authority to maintain the airports. Airlines are just collecting these fees on their behalf,” said one of the responders.

It was a very long conversation that, of course, other communities are having all around the world regarding charges imposed by airports and airlines and their lack of transparency in most of it.

But at least we know what a Cute Fee is now.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary