The clubs rely heavily on the 100 octane fuel for use in the aircraft, which are preferred by the clubs for training purposes, and say the move will force them to jack up their fees.

``The government is strangulating a basic requirement of flying clubs. We have been left with no alternative but to increase our fees by at least Rs 450 per hour, as all government-aided flying clubs operate on a no profit no loss basis,'' said a source at Bombay Flying Club, a government-aided club which is the country's oldest. There are around 35 flying clubs in the country.

While government-aided establishments charge Rs 1,800 per hour, private set-ups charge anywhere upto Rs 4,000, as well as take an advance for the first 100hours of flying. As it is mandatory for a student to log 250 hours, he or she could spend anything between Rs 5.25 lakh to Rs 10 lakh learning to fly. The price of fuel has been steadily hiked by nearly 300 per cent from just Rs 12 per litre since 1995. ``Getting a pilot's licence is anyway a costly affair. The recent hike will discourage more and more young people from taking up flying as a profession,'' added the source.

Private operators say they will pass on the burden to the consumer. Several clubs have already phased out their piston engine aircraft, replacing them with turbine engine aircraft. Kirloskars and Indamer have phased out all piston engined aircraft, while Mesco, which started operations in 1992 with two US-manufactured Hiller helicopters, is thinking on the same lines. Pawanhans, which has two piston engined Robinson 44 helicopters, is also planning to replace them with Dolphins.

The clubs complain of poor availability of the aerogas. Manufactured by an Australia company, the fuel isshipped to India at Calcutta, sent to Indian Oil Corporation depots and marketed under its label. ``Aerogas is available at only a handful of airports in the country. We have started asking our customers to arrange for aerogas for refuelling at airports where it is not available,'' said deputy general manager of Mesco Airlines Ltd, R N Johri.

He explained that instead of insisting that clubs use aerogas, the government should underrate engines to make them petrol-compatible. ``Our private operators' association has demanded that the government allow us to use ordinary 96 octane fuel for piston engine aircraft. The aircraft can be upgraded by a simple process for this purpose,'' added Johri. The proposal is pending with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, he said. ``The proposal is entangled in red tape. It's a pathetic situation.''

Sources also criticised the government's policy of granting students subsidies for the first 60 hours of flying. A student coughs up a marginal amount for the first 60hours. But if the fee amount is hiked due to the rise in fuel price, students will simply choose to opt out of the course after availing of the subsidy. ``The money spent by the government would have been in vain,'' said a source.