Government Raises Air Fare Limits by 30%, Domestic Flights To Cost More

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Thursday increased the minimum and maximum airfares by 10-30 per cent. These new limits would remain in force up to March 31, 2021, or until further orders are sent out, according to a notification issued by the ministry on Thursday.

The central government, while announcing the resumption of scheduled domestic flights on May 21 last year, had placed limits on airfares through seven bands classified on the basis of flight duration. These fare restrictions for flights were implemented to make certain that dynamic pricing does not hurt the consumer.

The first such band consists of flights that fly less than 40-minutes. The lower limit for the first band was increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,200. The upper limit in this band was increased to Rs 7,800, from Rs 6,000. The subsequent bands are for flights with a duration of 40-60 minutes, 60-90 minutes, 90-120 minutes, 120-150 minutes, 150-180 minutes and 180-210 minutes

The new lower and upper limits are: Rs 2,800-Rs 9,800; Rs 3,300-Rs 11,700; Rs 3,900-Rs 13,000; Rs 5,000-Rs 16,900; Rs 6,100-Rs 20,400; Rs 7,200-Rs 24,200, respectively. Earlier, the lower and upper limits for these bands were: Rs 2,500-Rs 7,500; Rs 3,000-Rs 9,000; Rs 3,500-Rs 10,000; Rs 4,500-Rs 13,000; Rs 5,500-Rs 15,700 and Rs 6,500-Rs 18,600, respectively.

Recently, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in Parliament said the fixed minimum and maximum airfare structure for the domestic sector will be removed once passenger traffic reaches per-Covid levels.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had said on May 21 last year that each airline would sell at least 40% of its tickets on a flight at prices less than the average between the lower limit and upper limit. Domestic flight services were suspended for two months till May 25 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Along with the limits on airfares, the government had asked the airlines to operate not more than 33 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic flights which was gradually increased to 45% on June 26. This was gradually increased to 80%. The ministry said on Thursday that the 80% limit would remain in place till March-end.

Also Read: Mallikarjun Kharge set to Become Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha

Also Watch: Shillong-Guwahati Toll Gate: Toll Tax or Harassment to Commuters?