New Delhi: Flying in India just got further expensive as a domestic air passenger will henceforth have to pay higher fare charges. The hike in price comes after the government late on Thursday hiked both minimum and maximum limits on airfare by 12.5 per cent. The Ministry of Civil Aviation had capped the domestic airfares since May 2020 when flight operations resumed after a gap of two months due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The price caps were put in place to keep ticket prices in check due to limited number of flights.
Until now, the base minimum airfare of domestic flights ranged from Rs 2,600 to Rs 7,800 and the maximum from Rs 8,700 to Rs 24,200. The base price will now on range from Rs 2,925 to Rs 8,775 while the upper cap has been set at Rs 9,787.5 to Rs 27,225. For instance, for a passenger travelling from Delhi to Mumbai, the minimum fare will be pegged at Rs 5287.5, a considerable rise from the Rs 4,700 that was applicable so far. The maximum fare has risen to Rs 14,625 from the earlier Rs 13,000. The passenger will also have to cough up additional amount towards taxes.
Also read: Airlines can operate maximum of 72.5 pc pre-Covid domestic flights: Govt
In May, the government had increased the limit on minimum fare by 15%. In February, it had hiked the limit on the minimum and maximum price by 10% and 30% respectively and this was increased by another 5% in March. Notably, the government on Thursday also allowed domestic airlines to fly more passengers as the demand in domestic market has improved. As per the latest order, domestic airlines are now allowed to fly upto 72.5 per cent of the seating capacity as against 65 per cent earlier.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen VK Singh had said on July 22, in a written reply to Lok Sabha, said that the government does not regulate airfares. "However, during the pandemic, the government described fare bands for domestic airlines. The fare bands have been revised on three occasions to compensate the airlines for the increase in the cost of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF). Any further adjustment of fare band would depend upon the amount of increase in the cost of ATF," he had stated.
