Airlines may pay more for peak-hour flying

In an attempt to tide over congestion in major airports--Delhi,Mumbai and Bangalore- the government is planning to hike navigation and other airport charges paid by carriers during peak hours and reduce them for non-peak hours.

The move is expected to lead to a marginal increase in air fares for peak hours as carriers are expected to pass on the burden to passengers.

"We are working on a clear system of incentives and disincentives for airlines operating during three peak hours in the morning and four in the evening," Civil Aviation secretary Ashok Chawla said.

He added airport and navigation charges could even be doubled during peak hours and halved between midnight and 5.00 am. Peak hours have been identified as 7am to 10am and 6pm to 10 pm.

"It's something all budget carriers have been asking for. There should be differential tariffs. Most of our flights are during non-peak hours," said Ajay Singh, director, SpiceJet.

Singh added navigation and landing charges accounted for 4-5 per cent of the total cost. "So if these rates go down by half, we won't save more than Rs 50 on a Rs 2,500 ticket," he added.

"The costs at airports are already high," said Jeh Wadia, managing director of Mumbai-based budget carrier GoAir.