Govt enacting checks to monitor airfares, says Jyotiraditya Scindia

Amid concerns about high airfares, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said his ministry randomly monitors prices across 60 routes on various days leading up to a scheduled flight.

The Union Minister was responding to a question during the Question Hour session in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

IUML MP E T Mohd Basheer asked the minister about the rise in fares during holiday and festival seasons and in case of natural calamities, and said that the government should not leave people "at the mercy of airlines".

"We must understand the situation in civil aviation space. Civil aviation is a seasonal sector. We have a tariff monitoring unit that looks at 60 routes randomly.... If you do the booking in advance, the fare will not be high," Scindia said in a verbal response. 

The Civil Aviation Ministry has a tariff monitoring unit (TMU) that monitors airfares between 30 days to one day ahead of a scheduled flight. 
 

Similarly, carriers are required to upload a fare sheet that lists the tariff offered across their network on their website. They are directed to furnish a copy of airfares every month and in cases where there is a change in the tariff, the union minister said in a written response submitted to the lower house.  

“Civil Aviation is a seasonal sector and fares go up and down variably. October till mid-January is the high season, after that comes the very low season until April-May when holiday starts and then again you have high season till mid-June. This is not just limited to India alone; this is a global phenomenon,” he said in a press statement. 

Airfares in the country and globally are determined based on market forces such as demand and supply, seasonality, the number of seats already sold on a flight, existing fuel price, capacity of the aircraft operating on the route, industry competition, and holidays, among others. 

Additionally, airlines are advised to moderate airfares during events such as natural disasters. 

“Airlines have also been sensitised to exercise moderation in pricing, and to keep passenger interest in mind. The airlines have committed to ensure that airfares do not surge during events such as natural disasters, calamities,” he said in a written response submitted to the lower house.
 

However, airfares on major domestic routes from Chennai had surged at the airport in the wake of Cyclone Michaung, Business Standard reported on Monday. 

According to Ixigo data, on December 5, one-way spot airfares from Chennai to cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Kolkata rose between 52 per cent and 171 per cent compared to prices three to seven days prior.
 

(With inputs from PTI)