Mumbai airport may soon penalise airlines that do not use approved slots and cancel flights for commercial reasons. The proposal (called slot charge), the first of its kind in India, is under Airport Economic Regulatory Authority’s (AERA’s) consideration. The slot charge has been included in Mumbai International Airport Limited’s (MIAL’s) rate revision proposal.

While MIAL had sought 881 per cent increase in aeronautical charges including landing and parking charges and use of aerobridge fees, among others, the regulator has recommended a 151 per cent rise, and sought comments from airlines and trade bodies on it.

Big airport projects to get a boost The final order is expected in December and the new rate structure is expected to be in force from next January. Earlier this year, AERA approved a 345 per cent rise in rates at Delhi airport, against the 770 per cent sought by the GMR Group that runs the airport. In its filing, MIAL has said the airport needs to operate at peak capacity to meet the demand, and, hence, non-utilisation of slots needs to be checked.

"The value of slots, if not used, is lost forever, and can not be recovered in any manner. To increase operational efficiency, leading to lower charges for users, MIAL is making a proposal to deter misuse of scheduled and unscheduled slots allocated to air carriers,'' said the AERA's consultation paper on rate revision. MIAL has said despite its monitoring, airlines obtain slots and do not use them, resulting in sub-optimal utilisation of infrastructure.

Mumbai airport wants airlines to pay a sum equivalent to the landing charges in case the airline does not operate a flight for commercial reasons on more than two occasions. Currently, the Mumbai airport charges Rs 15,000 as landing charge for Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. Aviation experts say Kingfisher’s cancellation of flights could have triggered MIAL’s decision as per a report in Business Standard.

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