by Cheryl Leschasin
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 15/97) - Northern airlines are worried that new air traffic control fees will prove too much for them to handle.

Some have suggested that the new fees will force them to raise overall costs to the consumer by as much as 30 per cent.

After receiving the approval of the minister of transport, Nav Canada, the private company that took over air traffic control last year, is going ahead with plans to implement a new set of user fees for aircraft.

Charges for aircraft weighing more than eight tonnes are scheduled to begin March 8, 1998. Fees for aircraft lighter than eight tonnes, which includes most aircraft operating in the North, are scheduled to be in place by Nov. 1, 1998, pending further consultation.

"Users of Canada's air navigation services and other stakeholders were able to provide direct input into the fee-setting process," said Kenneth Copeland, Nav Canada's president and CEO.

Further consultation to address Northerners' concerns will be take place in 1998, the company says.