Airfares on 5 routes register significant dip: Civil aviation minister Scindia

Airfares across five routes that were dominated by low-cost carrier GoFirst have recorded a significant drop, ranging between 14% and 61%, aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Wednesday.

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On Monday, the Union minister held a meeting with the Airlines Advisory Group on the increased airfares on certain air routes, particularly those in which GoFirst operated, and directed the airlines to self-monitor ticket prices.

On May 2, GoFirst filed a plea for voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings and suspended its operations on May 3. It has since continued to extend this suspension.

“DGCA is monitoring airfares on a daily basis and after conducting the meeting on Monday, the airfares on Delhi- Srinagar, Delhi-Pune, Delhi-Leh, Delhi-Ahmedabad and Delhi-Mumbai routes dropped between 14% and 61% on Tuesday,” Scindia said.

The aviation minister said that the government has conveyed to the airlines that ticket prices need to be kept within a certain limit.

“We must make sure that the maximum prices are within a certain limit and we have conveyed that message very clearly to the airlines. We cannot have prices that are way beyond what should rationally be done, specifically when we have certain instances take place such as the GoFirst situation or other calamities or extenuating circumstances,” he said and added that the ministry was “hopeful” that GoFirst will revive its operations soon.

Scindia said in the last nine years, the aviation sector has received a major boost during the tenure of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

“In 2014, there were only three greenfield airports. Now, 11 more are ready and 10 more have been approved. Similarly, the northeast region used to have nine airports in 2014 and the number has gone up to 17,” he said.

Scindia said the sector will see an investment of ₹1 lakh crore in the next few years.

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“By 2030, we will see 45 crore domestic flyers annually, up by 300% from the current figures. The capacity of airports is being hiked. The combined airport capacity of the six metros at present is 22 crore passengers annually. With Navi Mumbai and Greater Noida, the capacity will almost double to 41.5 crore,” he said.