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Congestion charge: Airlines to explain to HC
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March 27, 2007 15:04 IST
Last Updated: March 27, 2007 15:17 IST

Private airlines will explain before the Delhi High Court the reasons for imposing a Rs 150 per head surcharge to meet additional jet fuel expenses while aircraft hovers over major airports due to air traffic congestion.

This comes in the wake of the High Court asking the civil aviation ministry to explain how the airlines have decided to impose the congestion surcharge. State-owned Indian is the only carrier which has not imposed it.

"Majority of the airlines have written to the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) that they are unable to withdraw the surcharge.

"As we have explained to the ministry, we will explain to the court why the surcharge was imposed," liquor baron and Kingfisher Airline chief Vijay Mallya said on the sidelines of the Airport and Airline Expo in New Delhi.

Following the High Court directive, the airlines had been asked by DGCA to give their point of view on the surcharge by March 24.

Mallya, who is a prominent member of the industry body Federation of Indian Airlines, said if the airlines decided to withdraw the surcharge and increase airfares by the same amount, "will it be correct?". Air fares are not regulated by the government and airlines are free to fix the rates, he said.

"Therefore, the (congestion) surcharge should not be looked at with hostility", he said, adding, "As and when the situation eases and there is no congestion, every airline will be happy to remove it".

Justifying the congestion surcharge, Mallya said, "We need to fund the cost of a flight... when we block a time for a flight, say between Delhi and Mumbai, it is two hours. But it turns out to be three hours due to start-up delays and landing delays. That additional cost has to be recovered."

He said the surcharge was meant "to highlight the problem of congestion... I don't care whether we call it a surcharge or some other thing. The passenger is going to pay for it".

The Kingfisher chief said he understood that air traffic congestion over Delhi and Mumbai would not ease in the short-run, though both have been privatised. More runways and taxiways have to be constructed and air traffic controllers trained to handle more air traffic per hour, he added.

Congestion was so much that in the summer schedule of airlines, the government has decided that "no additional flights can be mounted out of Delhi and Mumbai airports, even though there was a great demand". "These two airports cannot handle more flights. There is limited capacity where demand exists", Mallya said.

Making a strong plea for having two airports in major cities, he wondered "whether we are doing a great service to ourselves or disservice" by having decided to close down the existing airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad when the greenfield airports are constructed.


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