New Delhi: Amid the slow pace of domestic air traffic, the cap on air fares may be extended beyond November 24 by the government, sources in the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Wednesday.
In the wake of coronavirus pandemic, the government has placed lower and upper limits on airfares depending on the duration of the flight.
Nishant Pitti, chief executive of online travel ticketing platform EaseMyTrip said that government should not extend the cap on airfares. On the other hand, some airlines said that the fare cap should be removed while some showed satisfaction with the fare caps as of now.
On July 24, the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had extended the cap on air fares for domestic flights until November 24 from August 24 earlier.
Read more: International flights to remain suspended till Nov 30
India started operating domestic flights after a gap of two months in the last week of May. According to Ministry of Civil Aviation, as of October 27, 1,48,344 passengers took to the skies in 3058 flights across the country.
Currently, the government has allowed domestic airlines to operate at 60 per cent capacity. Domestic flights in the country resumed operations from May 25 in a gradual manner.
Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in the country since the nationwide lockdown was imposed in March, 2020. However, the government has been operating international flights under the Vande Bharat mission and bilateral air bubble pacts.
