[New Delhi], Centre ,Taking U Turn, Denies Capping of Airfares
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju Exhibiting this U Turn, said restricting the airfares will not make good business sense as it could also jeopardise the government’s regional connectivity plan as such a move may discourage airlines to fly on non-profitable routes.
He, however, said a slew of passenger-centric measures including “time-bound” grievance redressal mechanism would be unveiled very soon, emphasising that India’s civil aviation market was the fastest growing in domestic passenger travel demand.
It is expected that the government was going to announce steps to rationalise the ticket cancellation charges and they are likely to be capped around the base fare, as against current exorbitant fees, as part of passenger-friendly initiatives.
The Minister said at least 32 airports built by Airport Authority of India at a cost of at least Rs 3,000 crore over the years were lying “unconnected” and putting any restriction on market-driven fares may jeopardize government’s plan to start flight services to those airports.
Holding that putting a cap on airfares may have an adverse impact on growth of aviation sector, Raju said his Ministry keeps a “continuous tab” on price movements to ensure that the rates are under check.
His comments come at a time when the government is discussing ways to address issues related to steep fluctuations in airfares, especially during peak seasons and natural calamities.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma last month had announced that capping of fares will be announced soon.
India’s domestic aviation market has clocked a growth rate of 22%in the last one year, the highest for any country. .