Fares may go up for flights during peak hours

New Delhi, Mar 5 (UNI) Fares for flights during peak hours at Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore may go up marginally in coming weeks as the civil aviation ministry is considering a proposal to double airport charges for airlines.

There is a serious mis-match between the demand and supply at these airports which calls for rationalisation, said civil aviation secretary Ashok Chawla.

''These charges need to be calibrated. We're in a rush to get this proposal cleared before the summer schedule starts by last Sunday of March,'' he told reporters.

Mr Chawla said there could be premium charge for airlines wanting aircraft movements during peak hours, discount charges for late night hours and normal (current) charges for daytime.

These could apply for low-cost, no-frills airlines as well, he said. ''The fat cats (business travellers) will need to pay more.'' Peak timings for airports are between 0700 to 1000 hrs and 1800 to 2200 hrs at Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore -- the country's busiest -- which lead to aircraft circling over the city for more than half hour before getting the landing slot from air traffic control.

Parking bays need to be cleared and other logistics have to be in place before a planeload of passengers touch down.

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