The Ministry of Civil Aviation removed the airfare limit on Wednesday, effective August 31, 2022. The pricing restriction was enforced on airlines to keep ticket rates as low as possible during the epidemic.
The ministry stated that after assessing the present condition of scheduled domestic operations in relation to passenger demand for air travel as described in the first order, it has been determined to abolish the tariff bands issued from time to time regarding airfares with effect from August 31.
However, airlines/airport operations must guarantee that the recommendations for limiting the spread of Covid are properly followed and that Covid appropriate behavior is strongly enforced throughout travel.
ATF prices have been falling in recent weeks after reaching record highs, owing mostly to the Russia-Ukraine conflict that began on February 24.
On August 1, the price of ATF in Delhi was Rs 1.21 lakh per kilolitre, around 14% lower than the previous month. When services resumed on May 25, 2020, following a two-month closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government put lower and maximum limitations on internal prices depending on flight lengths.
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 31.08.2022. pic.twitter.com/SnLUcW7Rjr
— MoCA_GoI (@MoCA_GoI) August 10, 2022
Airlines, for example, are now prohibited from charging passengers less than Rs 2,900 (excluding GST) and more over Rs 8,800 (excluding GST) for domestic flights lasting less than 40 minutes.
Lower restrictions were put in place to help financially weaker airlines, while greater caps were put in place to safeguard consumers from exorbitant costs.
“After review of the current status of scheduled domestic operations versus 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 Civil Aviation Ministry stated in an order issued on Wednesday.
However, airlines and airport operators must guarantee that the recommendations for containing the spread of COVID-19 are properly followed and that COVID-appropriate behaviour is firmly enforced during travel, according to the report.
The decision to remove air fare caps has been taken after careful analysis of daily demand and prices of air turbine fuel. Stabilisation has set in & we are certain that the sector is poised for growth in domestic traffic in the near future. https://t.co/qxinNNxYyu
— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) August 10, 2022
On June 19, Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan stated that while he would be pleased if the lower and maximum limitations on airfares were adjusted, the optimum answer would be for airlines to have complete freedom on pricing.
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