LCCs panic as peak-hour airport charges set to rise 10-15%
06 Mar 2007
Mumbai: With the civil aviation ministry deciding to double the airport charges levied on airlines during peak hours (7am to 10am and 6pm to 10pm) at Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore domestic airports, airfares for peak-hour flights are set to go up by 10 to 15 per cent from the end of March. The ministry is initiating the move with a view to decongesting airports. The three airports account for nearly half of all domestic traffic.
According to reports, civil aviation secretary, Ashok Chawla, has called a meeting of airlines on March 19 to apprise them of the decision.
Reports quote Chawla as saying that landing charges, parking charges and route navigation charges, levied on commercial airlines, would be doubled during peak hours at airports from March 25 onwards. According to Chawla, though the exact charges had not been decided upon they would however be in place before the summer schedule for the industry begins in the last week of March.
Domestic carriers, especially low cost carriers, have said that they would pass the price hike on to consumers. According to industry observers, the low cost carriers are likely to be hit the hardest since the hike will impact their fares the most.
On the flip side, enhanced charges for peak hours is also likely to see a drop in airport charges for flights operating during non-peak hours.
