Airfares May Increase As Govt To Remove Fare Caps On Domestic Flights From Aug 31

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Good News! The Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt of India on Wednesday announced that it has decided to remove the airfare bands (fare caps) from flight tickets starting August 31 2022.

The decision to remove the fare band follows a review of the current status of Scheduled Domestic Operations in relation to passenger demand for air travel by the Aviation Ministry.

MoCA Decided to Remove Fare Caps

The Ministry of Civil Aviation shared the order on its official Twitter handle and said;

“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.”

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Govt To Remove Airfare Bands On Domestic Flights

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.

said Union aviation minister J M Scindia in a Tweet

The order also stated that airlines/airport operators must ensure that the guidelines to contain the spread of COVID are strictly followed and that COVID appropriate behaviour is strictly enforced during travel.

It should be noted that the bands were introduced as a temporary measure in the aftermath of the pandemic, with upper and lower limits. Furthermore, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia previously stated that the airfare bands were in place to protect the interests of both airlines and passengers.

Impact of Fare Caps Removal?

As jet fuel prices have nearly tripled in the last two years, Indian airlines have been requesting an increase in fare caps for several months.

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The only way to prevent some airlines from being grounded due to financial difficulties was to remove fare bands and permit airlines to charge airfares reflecting higher operational costs.

As a result, it is very much expected that domestic flight fares will rise in the coming months.


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Manish Khandelwal
Manish Khandelwal

Manish Khandelwal, a travel-tech enthusiast with over a decade of experience in the travel industry. Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Travelobiz.com, he's passionate about writing.

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