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The government on Monday told Rajya Sabha that the airfares on certain routes are monitored in a 15-day cycle to ensure reasonable flight tickets.
In a written reply to a question by Narain Dass Gupta in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation Gen (Retd) V. K. Singh stated that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) monitors the airfares on certain routes on a monthly, rolling basis for a 15 day's cycle, in order to ensure reasonable airfares.
“Air fares are not regulated by the Governments. Under the provision of Sub Rule (1) of Rule 135, aircraft Rules 1937, airlines are free to fix reasonable tariff having regard to all relevant factors, including the cost of operation, characteristics of service, reasonable profit and the generally prevailing tariff. Air fare so established by the airlines is published on their respective website under the provision of Sub Rule (2) of Rule 135, Aircraft Rules 1937," according to a written reply by the government.
In order to prevent excessive charging and sudden surges in airfares and to promote transparency by scheduled domestic airlines, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued Air Transport Circular 02 of 2010 wherein airlines are required to display on their respective websites the tariff sheet route-wise across their network in various fare categories and the manner it is offered in the market.
DGCA has a Tariff Monitoring Unit that monitors airfares on certain routes on monthly basis to ensure that the airlines do not charge airfares outside a range declared by them.
The fare bands were revised from time to time in view of the substantial hike in price of Aviation Turbine Fuel(ATF) in order to keep the aviation sector viable while protecting the interests of the passengers. Presently, fare capping is applicable on a rolling basis for a 15 days' cycle. The Government regularly reviews the situation. Further, decisions regarding the domestic scheduled operations and relaxation in fare capping is subject to prevailing COVID-19 situation, status of operations and passenger demand for air travel.
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