The flight ticket prices in India is set to rise as the civil aviation ministry on Thursday has increased the lower and upper limits on domestic airfares by 10 to 30%. The ministry extended the cap on airfare till 31 March. In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the aviation ministry implemented a restriction on domestic airfare in May 2020. Domestic flights in India have a cap on fares with both an upper and lower limit.
Flights between cities that are under 40 minutes have been classified under section one, while those under 40-60 minutes are under section two. Section three consists of destinations 60-90 minutes apart by flight, section four comprises cities 90-120 minutes apart, section five consists of cities 120-150 minutes apart. Destinations between 150-180 minutes and 180-210 minutes have been classified under sections 6 and 7, respectively.
The fresh lower and upper limits set by the ministry for these bands were: ₹2,800 – ₹9,800 for section one; ₹3,300 – ₹11,700 for section two; ₹3,900 – ₹13,000 section three; ₹5,000 – ₹16,900 section four; ₹6,100 – ₹20,400 section five; ₹7,200 – ₹24,200 section six, respectively.
Airlines have to make available 40% of total seats in an aircraft at less than the mid-point price between the highest and lowest fares, aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola earlier said.
The cap on the number of domestic flights that Indian airlines were permitted to operate will remain at 80% of their pre-COVID levels till 31 March or till the summer schedule begins, said the ministry.
“As per the prevailing situation of COVID-19, the central government…directs the order dated 3 December, 2020, shall remain in force till 2359 hrs on 31 March, 2021 or till the date of commencement of summer schedule 2021, whichever is earlier or until further orders,” the ministry’s order said.
The ministry had resumed scheduled domestic passenger services from 25 May, 2020, after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus lockdown. The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries in view of the coronavirus pandemic. The international passenger flights continued to remain suspended in India since 23 March, 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic
