Centre to remove cap on airfares from August 31, Scindia says “stabilisation has set in”

New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has decided to withdraw the fare cap on air tickets imposed during the initial days of COVID-1 in 2020.

The cap on fares will be removed from August 31, 2022. “After review of the current status of Scheduled Domestic Operations viz-a-viz passenger demand for air travel, it has been decided to remove the fare bands notified from time to time regarding the airfares with effect from 31.08.2022,” the ministry tweeted on Wednesday while attaching an order copy.

The cap on airfares was imposed by the ministry on May 21, 2020.

Delhi-Mumbai flight ticket was then priced between Rs 3,500 and Rs 10,000.

The flight duration was divided into seven categories – 0-30 minutes, 30-60 minutes, 60-90 minutes, 90-120 minutes, 120-150 minutes, 150-180 minutes, and 180-210 minutes

“The decision to remove airfare caps has been taken after careful analysis of daily demand and prices of air turbine fuel,” Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted.

“Stabilisation has set in and we are certain that the sector is poised for growth in domestic traffic in the near future.”
The order by the Civil Aviation Ministry said the airlines/operators shall, however, ensure that the guidelines to contain the spread of COVID-19 are strictly adhered to and appropriate behaviour is strictly enforced.

Domestic aviation operations have been seeing a rise with all COVID protocols in place.

On Tuesday, 632,187 passengers flew in domestic flights, the ministry said.