Look closely at the next air ticket you buy, and you will find a Rs 150 fee levied for `congestion charges'.

No, this is not a charge levied by the Airports Authority, and passed on to you.

It is a charge levied by the airline itself, because there is a lot of congestion and over-crowding at airports, which results in aircraft having to hover in the air or wait on the tarmac with their engines on, ready for take-off.

Because of this, gallons of fuel is getting burned every day.

Hence, the congestion charge.

How is an airline able to get away with it?

By entering into a pact with other airlines that they too will levy exactly the same charge.

A quick survey revealed that Spice, Air Deccan and Jet all levy the charge, though only the Web sites of the first two tell passengers about it.

The pact extends to all flights at all times, even though only a few are subject to losses due to fuel burn.

An amount of Rs 150 may not seem like much. But multiply it by an average of 10,000 passengers travelling every day of the year, and it adds Rs 55 crore to the kitty.

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