According to a notification, the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Thursday increased the upper and lower limit on domestic airfare by 10 percent to 30 percent. The ministry also said that the number of domestic flights that airlines would be permitted to operate will remain at 80 percent of their pre-Covid levels till March 31 or till the summer schedule begins.
When scheduled domestic air travel services resumed in May-end last year after being halted for two months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the government had set the upper fare limit at 18,600 rupees and lower limit at 2,000 rupees. They have now been revised to 24,200 rupees and 2,200 rupees, respectively. Seven fare bands were formed, based on the duration of the flights. Earlier, minimum airfare for a Delhi-Mumbai flight was set at 3,500 rupees and maximum at 10,000 rupees.
It has been now increased to 3,900 rupees and 13,000 rupees, respectively. The decision to increase the fare cap is part of the ministry's move to gradually remove pricing restrictions as flight operations normalize. The government had to place fare limits last year in order to safeguard the interests of both airlines and passengers.
Without the imposition of the fare caps, the ministry had feared that depending on capacity and traffic scenario, fares could either be below the cost of services or be exorbitantly high. The government does not, in normal circumstances, regulate airfares, which is a function of demand and supply and is market-determined. The fare band is in effect till Mar 31. Airlines are currently being allowed to deploy 80 percent of their fleet capacity.
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