Pay more for flight tickets in India: What's changing from today

With the new rules, airlines will be able to deploy only 50 per cent of the number of flights. (AP)Premium
With the new rules, airlines will be able to deploy only 50 per cent of the number of flights. (AP)
 2 min read . Updated: 01 Jun 2021, 10:08 AM IST Edited By Sangeeta Ojha

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has reduced the capacity that can be deployed by airlines on domestic routes to 50 per cent of pre-Covid levels from June 1 onward

Travelling in India will become expensive from today as the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has decided to raise the lower limit on domestic airfares starting today, 1 June 2021. So, if you have travel plans, be ready to shell out more for flights within the country will become costlier. For instance, if a Delhi-Mumbai flight that was costing you ₹3,500 earlier, will now cost ₹700 more than the current fare after the new rule kicks in.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has reduced the capacity that can be deployed by airlines on domestic routes to 50 per cent of pre-Covid levels from June 1 onward.

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What does this mean for passengers?

With the new rules, airlines will be able to deploy only 50 per cent of the number of flights. This means several flights across the board would see cancellations from June 1 onward. For those already booked to fly on or after June 1, the airline will either book the passengers on alternate flights or offer a refund or a free flight change for a later date. Airlines like Air India and others are now offering a change of flight, date without an additional fee.

New fares

  • The lower limit for flights under 40 minutes of duration will be increased from ₹2,300 to ₹2,600 — a hike of 13 per cent.
  • Flights with a duration between 40 minutes and 60 minutes will have a lower limit of ₹3,300 instead of the current ₹2,900.
  • Domestic flights of duration between 60-90 minutes airfare will be charged at ₹4,000, 90-120 minutes at ₹4,700, 150-180 minutes at ₹6,100 and 180-210 minutes will cost ₹7,400.

Reason for the increase in airfares

On account of the rise in fuel costs, the government has increased the fare limits. An increase in airfares has also been attributed to the capacity of the load factors of the passengers. A sudden increase of coronavirus cases in the second wave of the Covid pandemic showed a decrease in domestic air travel.



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