A dip in passenger load, caused by fare hikes forced by costlier air turbine fuel, has prompted two private airlines to take some flights off their Calcutta roster and others to contemplate following suit.

The Kingfisher-Deccan group decided to suspend three flights within a week of fuel prices being raised. In a circular to its trade partners, the group on Tuesday said Kingfisher’s Calcutta-Ahmedabad-Calcutta flights would remain suspended from July 1 to September 15 and Deccan flights to Mumbai and Port Blair till September 15 with immediate effect.

“This is just the beginning. Some other airlines are expected to follow suit because they have to calculate their operating expenses closely in this era of high air turbine fuel prices, which are not likely to soften in the near future,” an industry source said.

A Kingfisher official cited “commercial reasons” for the decision to suspend flights.

SpiceJet, JetLite and other private airlines are contemplating suspending some of their flights to and from Calcutta that have been affected by the upward revision of fares. The destinations include Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai.

All airlines increased their fuel surcharge by 10-15 per cent after the air turbine fuel price went up. “For a long-haul flight above 750km, one has to pay more than Rs 1,000 extra in the minimum-fare bracket. A lot of passengers are now opting to travel by train,” an airport official said.

A SpiceJet official confirmed that the airline was planning to suspend certain flights, but did not divulge which. “There is a definite decrease in the number of passengers in these sectors,” he said.

Some airlines have decided not to pay commission to tour operators on sale of air tickets from October 1. Air India has taken the lead, announcing withdrawal of the commission system in a letter to associations of travel agents.

The withdrawal of commission could lead to agents charging passengers to make up for the loss.

“When agents are denied commission, passengers could be burdened with the additional cost of services received from agents,” said Tarakeswar Singh, the eastern zone chairman of the IATA Agents' Association of India. “Commission on the sale of an air ticket is the legitimate right of a travel agent,” he added.

A spokesperson for Air India said there was no plan to withdraw flights from any sector despite the airline recording a 15 per cent drop in the number of passengers on flights from Calcutta to Chennai, Mumbai, Port Blair and some other destinations. “The Bagdogra and Kathmandu sectors have been affected the most,” another official said.

He said the decline in these two sectors was even more than on other routes — as high as 30 per cent — because of bad weather and political disturbance.

According to airport officials, passenger traffic in the domestic sector has decreased by 15-20 per cent in the past few weeks.