On Saturday, the price of an economy-class ticket from Delhi to London on British Airways dated August 26 rose to nearly Rs 4 lakh, Sanjeev Gupta, Secretary, Inter-State Council Secretariat, Union Home Ministry, had written, complaining about the situation on Twitter.
He added that the economy class tickets for the same route on August 26 in Vistara and Air India was priced between Rs 1.2 lakh and Rs 2.3 lakh. The surge in airfare on Delhi to London flights comes at a time of college admission in the UK.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Sunday sought a detailed report about the rise in airfare on India to UK routes during August, however, no relief is in sight.
The data submitted to the aviation regulator shows that the minimum fare on the route for nonstop flights ranges from Rs 1,03,191 to Rs 1,47,544 on different days this month for Air India, Vistara, British Airways, and Virgin Atlantic.
There have been no upper and lower limits imposed on international flights since the pandemic hit the nation. The regular international flights have been suspended in India since March 23 last year. However, international flights are operating under the bio-bubble agreement since July 2020.
According to a report by The Times of India, the airfares will remain high until the weekly cap of flights between the two nations will be 30 and there are no regulatory authorities to regulate the prices, aviation industry insiders said.
“International airfares are neither regulated nor monitored as they are dependent on demand and supply,” a senior official told TOI.
Vistara told PTI, "Pricing is always a function of supply and demand... There are only 15 flights a week allowed currently on India - UK route for Indian carriers and when there is relaxation and more capacity allowed, it will automatically bring down prices." The airline is currently operating flights between Delhi-London and Mumbai-London routes.