New Delhi: The government on Thursday decided to extend the cap on domestic airlines to deploy up to 80 per cent of their pre-Covid level till March 31, 2021 and revised the domestic airfare range, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.
Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had earlier announced that the government has extended the cap on domestic airfares till 24 February.
Earlier, the base minimum airfare of domestic flights was ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 6,500 and the maximum was from Rs 6,000 to Rs 18,600. Now, the government has expanded the airfare range with minimum from Rs 2,200 to 7,200 and maximum from Rs 7,800 to Rs 24, 200.
The civil aviation sector was completely closed down on March 23, 2020 due to the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of Covid-19, and domestic flights were reopened on May 25, 2020 in a slow and calibrated manner.
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Responding to a question in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that why the flights are not operating up to 80 per cent capacity, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that it is a decision taken on a commercial basis by air carriers.
The minister also informed the parliament that further opening up of the domestic scheduled operations and relaxation in fare capping is subject to the prevailing covid-19 situation, the status of operations and passenger demand for air travel.
