Patel slams congestion charge

New Delhi: Aviation minister Praful Patel on Tuesday lashed out at airlines levying congestion charge of Rs 150 on all sectors while the problem of ATC delays is limited mainly to Delhi and Mumbai. Almost all domestic carriers, except Indian have been levying that fee citing the delays — and financial losses of Rs 2,500 for each minute of hovering — because of congestion at Metros airports.
"If congestion is mainly in these two places, why are airlines levying the charge on all sectors? This is just a way of boosting their revenue. Traffic congestion in Delhi has improved now and Mumbai is using both runways simultaneously," Patel said. But he admitted that cess would have to be withdrawn by the airlines alone as the government "does not control fares".
17/01/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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