COVID-19: Centre hikes airfares by 15%

The Central Government has decided to increase the minimum domestic airfares by 15 per cent and reduce the maximum passenger capacity to 50 per cent from 80 per cent. When it comes to effect the minimum air fare range will be between Rs 2,600 to Rs 7,800 while the maximum range will be between Rs 8,700 to Rs 24, 200.

New Delhi: Considering the surge in active Covid-19 cases across the country, the Central Government on Friday decided to reduce the maximum passenger capacity for domestic airlines to 50 per cent from the current 80 per cent and hiked fares by 15 per cent. The order comes into effect from June 1 and will last till July 31.

As of now, the base minimum airfare of domestic flights ranges from Rs 2,200 to Rs 7,200 while the maximum price range from Rs 7,800 to Rs 24,200. From June 1, the government will expand the airfare range with a minimum fare of Rs 2,600 to Rs 7,800 and a maximum of Rs 8,700 to Rs 24,200.

As per sources, in a meeting with the Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola this week, airlines representatives sought financial assistance from the Centre to deal with the second wave of Covid-19 in the country and requested to reduce the flight capacity to below 60 per cent.

The civil aviation sector was completely closed down on March 23 last year due to the nationwide lockdown. Domestic flights were reopened on May 25 last year in a slow and calibrated manner.

Since then, the government gradually increased the flight capacity from 33 per cent to 80 per cent in December. On May 23, 2021, domestic carriers ferried only 59,319 passengers on 786 flights.