Some foreign airlines are postponing any plans to increase their capacity in India because of exorbitant airport charges at Delhi, GoAir CEO Giorgio De Roni said.

Speaking at a media conference, organised to announce the launch of a GoAir flight connecting Bangalore and Goa, Roni said there was no logic in the airport operator increasing airport charges for carriers by 334 per cent in one year.

He complained that airports like that of Pune had increased charges by up to 35 per cent with hardly a day's notice to the carriers.

Speaking on the topic, he added, "High airport charges are a serious problem. Delhi (airport) is a problem. It is brand new and extremely nice, but the cost is extremely high."

He said no airport in the world, except Delhi airport, charge fee for departing flights as well as arriving flights.

He further said that his experience of 25 years with the international aviation industry didn't allow him to think that increasing fees charged by airport operators would generate higher revenues for them. He cited the examples of Ireland and the Netherlands airports, which increased airport charges, and suffered decline in revenues as a result.

The Federation of Indian Airlines has already raised the issue of prohibitive airport charges with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, as well as with the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India.