New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Ministry has raised the lower as well as upper caps on fares by 9.83% to 12.82%. This has made domestic air travel costlier.
On August 12, 2021, the ministry increased the lower limit for flights under 40 minutes of duration from Rs 2,600 to Rs 2,900. The upper limit for the same was increased by 12.82% to Rs 8,800.
The lower cap of flights with a duration of 40-60 minutes has been raised from Rs 3,300 to Rs 3,700. The Upper cap is now Rs 11,000. The flights with 60-90 minutes duration have a lower limit of Rs 4,500 and an upper limit of Rs 13,200.
Similarly, domestic flights of duration between 90-120, 120-150, 150-180 and 180-210 minutes have lower caps of Rs Rs 5,300, Rs 6,700, Rs 8,300 and Rs 9,800, respectively. And the upper caps on domestic flights of duration between 90-120, 120-150, 150-180, and 180-210 minutes were increased by 12.3%, 12.42%, 12.74 % and 12.39%, respectively.
The lower caps were imposed to help airlines financially. The upper caps were to ensure that passengers are not charged unfair amounts due to the high demand. India had imposed lower and upper limits on airfares on the basis of flight duration back on May 25, 2020, when services resumed after a two-month lockdown.
The caps mentioned in the new order do not include the passenger security fee, user development fee for the airports, and the GST. When a passenger books a ticket, these charges are added on top.
The ministry stated that the new order is made by keeping the "prevailing situation of Covid-19" in mind.