Justifying its decision to hike charges on airlines for peak-time operations at three major airports, the government said on Tuesday the burden would be offset by incentives during non-peak hours.
"This is not a permanent measure. It is a temporary step to tide over the problem of congestion till infrastructure to expand capacity of airports to handle heavy traffic is in place," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in New Delhi.
The ministry is working on a proposal to hike or even double the peak-time navigation and other airport charges to de-congest air traffic over Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore airports from March 25, the start of the summer schedule. The charges could be halved between midnight and 5 am.
The decision could lead to rise in airfares in peak hours as