Airfares Likely To Rise As Government Lifts Price Cap
The order to remove fare bands on airline will come into effect from Aug. 31.
Airfares of domestic airlines are likely to rise after the Ministry of Civil Aviation on Wednesday removed the cap on pricing of air tickets with effect from Aug. 31.
"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," it said.
However, the airlines and airport operators will ensure that the guidelines to contain the spread of Covid-19 are strictly adhered to during travel, the order added.
Jyotiraditya Scindia, the minister for Civil Aviation noted that the decision was taken after analysis of daily demand and prices of air turbine fuel.
"Stabilisation has set in and we are certain that the sector is poised for growth in domestic traffic in the near future," he said in a tweet.
The ministry, in May 2020, had imposed upper and lower caps for domestic airfares on flight durations following airline resumption post Covid-19 induced lockdown.
The fare bands were imposed to ensure the airlines don't charge the customers excessively and to curb unessential travel during the pandemic.