Maximum airfares drop up to 61% after govt intervention

Don't wait for govt to point out odd fares: Scindia

- DEEPAK PATEL & ANEESH PHADNIS

Maximum airfares on certain busy routes from Delhi dropped between 14 per cent and 61 per cent in the past two days, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who had instructed airlines in a meeting on June 5 to keep fares reasonable, said on Wednesday.

“I am happy to say that the maximum fares on flights connecting Delhi with Srinagar, Leh, Pune and Mumbai dropped 14-61 per cent on June 6. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and my ministry are monitoring fares on a daily basis," Scindia said.

Clarifying that the government was not considering regulating fares like it did during the Covid-19 pandemic, the minister said it was for airlines to proactively monitor fares as part of their social objective and not wait for the government to point out abnormalities. “The fare bands imposed during the pandemic were to protect airlines, which had all their planes on ground, and to safeguard passengers from predatory or extensive pricing.”