Air fares further slashed up to 74% amid Aviation Ministry's constant intervention

After the continuous intervention of the Civil Aviation Ministry, airfares have once again been slashed bringing respite to travellers. The need for intervention arose as post covid prices of various airlines on multiple routes had skyrocketed. 

Acting swiftly, the Ministry for Civil Aviation intervened and convened a meeting with the Airlines' advisory group on June 6 where a resolution was passed to monitor and reduce the airfares. This resulted in the deduction of the airfare by 14% to 61%. The announcement was made by Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on June 8. 

The prices have been further reduced between the range of 5% to 74% depending on various flight routes. 

The Director General For Civil Aviation (DGCA) is monitoring the airfare daily. 

The airfare that has been slashed today is for economy class. 

Scindia in the past had observed that the role of the aviation Ministry is that of a facilitator, not a regulator. He chaired the high-level meeting of the advisory group that had asked the airlines to self-regulate airfares and maintain reasonable price levels.

On June 5, the government asked airlines to devise a mechanism to ensure reasonable airfares amid a surge in air ticket prices, particularly on certain routes that were earlier served by Go First.  During an hour-long meeting of the airlines' advisory group, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia shared his concerns about the steep rise in airfares on certain routes.

India is one of the fastest-growing civil aviation markets in the world and domestic passenger traffic has been rising after being significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In April, domestic airlines flew 128.88 lakh passengers, as per the latest official data.