The notification came at a time when India is likely to record a significant rise in the number of air passengers in the upcoming years.
New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday issued an order ending the limits placed on airfares when the pandemic began. From August 31, the airlines will be free to decide how much to charge passengers.
Airlines, which have been reporting huge losses, said with no restrictions, they may discount tickets to ensure that the volume of passengers increase.
Tweeting the order, Union Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said, “The decision to remove air fare caps has been taken after careful analysis of daily demand and prices of air turbine fuel. Stabilisation has set in & we are certain that the sector is poised for growth in domestic traffic in the near future.”
The notification of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation reads, “after review of the current status of Scheduled Domestic Operations viz-a-viz passenger demand for air travel in terms of the purpose specified in the initial Order No. 02/2020 dated 21.05.2020, it has been decided to remove the fare bands notified from time to time regarding airfares with effect from 31.08.2022.”
The notification came at a time when India is likely to record a significant rise in the number of air passengers in the upcoming years. According to an assessment by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), India’s total air passenger traffic is expected to increase from 341 million during 2019- 2020 to around 827 million by 2032-33.
The rise in the number of flyers has also seen the government taking multiple steps to make the airport infrastructure in the country better.
