New Delhi: From Friday (Aug 13), Domestic air travel is to become costlier as the Civil Aviation Ministry has raised the lower as well as upper caps on fares by 9.83% to 12.82%, according to an official order.
In an order dated August 12, 2021, the ministry increased the lower limit for flights under 40 minutes of duration from ₹2,600 to ₹2,900 — an increase of 11.53%. The upper cap for flights under 40 minutes of duration was increased by 12.82% to ₹8,800.
Similarly, flights with a duration between 40-60 minutes have a lower limit of ₹3,700 instead of ₹3,300 now, the order said. The upper cap on these flights was increased by 12.24% to ₹11,000 on Thursday.
The flights with a duration between 60-90 minutes have a lower limit of ₹4,500 — an increase of 12.5%. The upper cap on these flights was increased by 12.82% to ₹13,200.
Now, domestic flights of duration between 90-120, 120-150, 150-180 and 180-210 minutes have lower caps of ₹5,300, ₹6,700, ₹8,300 and ₹9,800, respectively, as per the ministry’s order.
The corona pandemic and the lockdown had led to a sharp decline in the number of air passengers. This had also affected the earnings of airline companies. This move by the government is expected to bring relief to these airline companies.
Earlier on June 21, the Central government had increased the fares of domestic flights by 15 per cent. During the second wave of the corona, the number of operational domestic flights was reduced from 80 per cent before Covid to 50 per cent.
During the pandemic, the Ministry of Civil Aviation continuously regulated airfares and the capacity of passengers. The impact of which has been seen on the earnings of airlines companies.
