IATO for cap on maximum air fares for domestic fligths

Says fares should be not beyond the reach of a common man

Pitching for capping of maximum air fares for domestic flights, a tourist operators body, IATO today said that the airlines should not be allowed to charge ticket prices beyond a limit.

"The Government must fix an upper limit for domestic air fares. We don't say that they should charge less or equal to their direct operating cost. But the fares should also be not beyond the reach of a common man," Indian Association of Tour Operators (IAT0) president Subhash Goyal said here at a function to announce the dates for the 31st IATO Convention at Indore.

Alleging cartelisation by the airlines on this issue, he said that the government needs to check this trend.

"A large number of flyers also comprise emergency travellers and they are forced to shell out huge money for last minute travel, especially in the peak seasons. They suffer a lot because of the high fares," he said.

Lower air fares would encourage more travellers to fly, he added.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma was the chief guest on this occasion.

Sharma has several times in the past also expressed concern on "high fares" during the peak seasons and called for fixing lower and upper limits for economy class tickets.

However, a DGCA survey of average fares conducted over a period of one year in 2014 found that the average fares of the domestic airlines were closer to the minimum fares.

"The average fare is closer to the minimum fare being offered by the airlines indicating that most of the tickets sold by the airlines are not at exorbitant price," DGCA had said after analysing the fare movements during 2014.

Earlier, Goyal announced that the 31st edition of the four-day IATO convention would take place at Indore (Madhya Pradesh) from August 20.