Govt to airlines: Don’t charge extra for check-ins at airports

NEW DELHI: Air travellers will no longer need to pay an extra fee of about ₹200 per person to check-in at airport counters. The J M Scindia-headed aviation ministry on Thursday directed airlines to immediately stop levying the same following complaints. However at a time when record high jet fuel prices and record low rupee have forced airlines to steeply hike fares — putting the brakes on the post Omicron air traffic recovery, — this will mean only a marginal relief to those domestic passengers who prefer to stand in airport queues to check-in instead of doing so online.
“It has come to the notice of the aviation ministry that airlines are charging additional amount for issuing boarding passes from passengers. This amount is not in accordance with (rules)…. airlines are advised not to charge additional amount for issuing boarding passes at the airport check-in counters, as the same cannot be considered within the ‘tariff’ as provided under (rules),” the aviation ministry tweeted Thursday.
“It was a commercial decision of airlines to charge passengers for checking in at airports. Now that the ministry is deciding what can or can’t be charged (that was supposed to be a decision for airlines), they must remove domestic airfare bands also. These fare bands (now applicable on a 15-day rolling basis) have not been revised despite the steep hike in jet fuel price and sharp depreciation of the rupee,” said airline officials.