Airport fees are often high, but a recent post by a copyright advocate has gone viral on social media. The post on X has sparked a debate about additional fees such as the “Cute Fee” and the “User Development Fee.”
Lawyer Shrayansh Singh shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) with a screenshot of an invoice showing an additional charge labeled “Cute Fee.” The lawyer asked, “What is this ‘Cute Fee’?”
“Dear IndiGo, what is this ‘cuteness fee’? Do you charge users for being cute? Or do you charge because you think your planes are cute?” wrote user X in the caption. He also asked about the “user development fee” and “aviation safety fee” while expressing his outrage.
IndiGo’s response to “What is Cute Fee?”:
“Hello, we would like to inform you that Cute charges refer to the charge for the use of common user terminal equipment. Basically, it is the amount charged for the use of metal detector machines, escalators and other equipment used at the airport,” Indigo Airlines responded.
Singh replied: “Isn’t this part of airport security? Aren’t the metal detectors owned by the CISF, which is a government security organisation also for airport security?” “The equipment used at the airport, including the airport buildings themselves, are public service infrastructures. They are supposed to be maintained with the taxes we pay,” he added.
Since it was shared, the viral post has garnered millions of views and generated many comments. Many social media users are sharing their reactions. While some sided with the man, others showed their support for the airline.
X users’ reaction to IndiGo’s post:
“I wonder how much they will charge for using fuel nozzles at petrol pumps. Sorry, I shouldn’t be giving them ideas like this,” posted one X user.
“What about the charges for breathing? Is the passenger breathing oxygen at the airport and on the plane? Where is that tax break?” added another.
A third commented: “These kinds of questions arise when someone suddenly buys a flight ticket instead of a bus ticket. CISF does not offer free services like in the US where TSA charges per passenger. In several countries, airport tax is used instead of UDF/PDF and CUTE charges.”
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