Government removes fare cap on domestic flights, ticket prices to increase from THIS date?

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has decided to remove the airfare bands on domestic flight tickets after reviewing the current status of scheduled domestic operations.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has announced that after reviewing the current status of scheduled domestic operations the government has decided to remove the airfare bands from flight tickets. Based on the information from the ministry the new rule will come into effect starting on 31 August 2022. The information was shared by the ministry's official Twitter handle. It is to be noted that the bands were introduced in the wake of the pandemic with upper and lower limits as a temporary measure. Moreover, earlier Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had mentioned that the airfare bands were in place to protect the interest of both the airlines and the passengers.

"The decision to remove air fare caps has been taken after careful analysis of daily demand and prices of air turbine fuel (ATF). Stabilisation has set in and we are certain that the sector is poised for growth in domestic traffic in the near future," Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Twitter. ATF prices have been coming down during the last few weeks after jumping to record levels, primarily due to the Russia-Ukraine war that began on February 24.

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

On August 1, the price of ATF in Delhi was Rs 1.21 lakh per kilo-litre, which was around 14 per cent lower than last month.

The notification from the aviation ministry said, "After review of the current status of Scheduled Domestic Operations viz-a-viz passenger demand for air travel in terms of purpose specified in the initial order Order No. 2/2020 dated 21.05.2020, it has been decided to remove the fare bands notified from time to time regarding the airfares with effect from 31.08.2022."

In addition, the ministry also guided the airlines to ensure adherence to the Covid-19 guidelines to contain and prevent the spread of the virus. The notification from the ministry said, "The airlines/airport operators shall, however, ensure that the guidelines to contain the spread of COVID are strictly adhered to and COVID appropriate behaviour is strictly enforced by them during the travel."