Centre to remove domestic flight fare bands from August 31

The government decided to remove the fare bands for domestic flights from August 31 this year after reviewing the current status of scheduled operations.

"After review of the current status of scheduled domestic operations viz-a-viz passenger demand for air travel in terms of purpose specified in the initial order, it has been decided to remove the fare bands notified from time to regarding the airfares with effect from August 31, 2022," the ministry of civil aviation said in a notification.

The ministry, however, told airlines and airport operators to ensure that the guidelines to contain the spread of Covid-19 are strictly followed.

"The decision to remove air fare caps has been taken after careful analysis of daily demand and prices of air turbine fuel. Stabilisation has set in & we are certain that the sector is poised for growth in domestic traffic in the near future," Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said.

Domestic price fare band

In 2020, the ministry fixed the upper and lower limit of airfares when domestic flights resumed operation in a limited capacity after being suspended during the lockdown.

In September last year, the ministry revised the caps and increased both the upper and the lower limits.

Currently, fare capping is applicable on a rolling basis for a 15-day cycle.

The practice will be done away with from the end of this month.

What does it mean?

The lower and upper limits on airfares remain for 15 days at any given time and the airlines, at present, are free to charge without any limits from the 16th day onwards.

The step will imply that from August 31, airlines can now charge according to the market behaviour.

Given the current situation, airfares may go up as carriers as jet or aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices have almost tripled in the last two years.