Domestic airfare caps to be faraway from Aug 31: Govt

Limits imposed on home airfares will probably be faraway from August 31, after a span of roughly 27 months, the Union Aviation Ministry mentioned on Wednesday.

“The decision to remove air fare caps has been taken after careful analysis of daily demand and prices of air turbine fuel (ATF). Stabilisation has set in and we are certain that the sector is poised for growth in domestic traffic in the near future,” Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia mentioned on Twitter.

ATF costs have been coming down throughout the previous few weeks after leaping to file ranges, primarily because of the Russia-Ukraine warfare that started on February 24.

On August 1, the value of ATF in Delhi was Rs 1.21 lakh per kilo-litre, which was round 14 per cent decrease than final month.

The ministry had imposed decrease and higher limits on home airfares primarily based on flight durations when providers had been resumed on May 25, 2020 after a two-month lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For instance, airways at present can’t cost a passenger lower than Rs 2,900 (excluding GST) and greater than Rs 8,800 (excluding GST) for home flights of lower than 40 minutes.

The decrease caps had been there to guard the financially weaker airways and the higher caps to guard passengers from excessive fares.

On Wednesday, the Civil Aviation Ministry said in an order: “After review of the current status of scheduled domestic operations viz-a-viz passenger demand for air travel…it has been decided to remove the fare bands notified from time to time regarding the airfares with effect from August 31, 2022.” The airways and airport operators should, nevertheless, be certain that the rules to comprise the unfold of COVID-19 are strictly adhered to and COVID-appropriate behaviour is strictly enforced by them throughout journey, it added.

Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan had on June 19 mentioned that he could be pleased if the decrease and higher limits on airfares had been elevated however the most effective resolution could be for the airways to have absolute freedom on airfares.