Centre enters cockpit to curb air fare hike

Union government on Wednesday said it was working with the airlines to increase capacity across sectors to keep a check on spiralling air fares.

“To ensure passenger convenience, stable operations andaffordable fares, MoCA is working with airlines to provide sufficient capacityacross the entire network. We continue to monitor safety and compliance on adaily basis,” the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) tweeted.

   

“All airlines are required to follow the PassengerCharter requirements fully and comprehensively. Any complaints may beregistered with the AirSewa portal,” it said.

The development has come after a meeting between the CivilAviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola and airlines’ representatives. OnTuesday, a similar meeting was held between the Directorate General of CivilAviation (DGCA) and the airlines.

A senior DGCA official said on Tuesday the government didnot issue a directive, but advised the airlines to increase capacity and keepfares under check.

The regulator is undertaking sector-specific reviews onprice hike.

The government has advised the domestic airlines not to gofor predatory fare pricing as several 737-MAX aircraft were grounded due tosafety reasons in the wake of a plane crash in Ethiopia.

India suspended operations and overflight permission for allBoeing 737-MAX aircraft from 4 p.m. on March 13. In India, SpiceJet (12) andJet Airways (5) together operated 17 Boeing 737-800 MAX aircraft.

Since March 14, passengers have faced the prospect of highfares and fewer choices as several airlines cancelled operations for a numberof reasons, including grounding of Boeing 737-MAX aircraft.

According to industry insiders, with no short-term relief insight, some sectors will continue to see a rise of more than 100 per cent incase of last minute bookings.

A part of Jet Airways’ fleet has already been grounded dueto other reasons. Facing financial crunch, Jet has grounded over 40 aircraftover non-payment of dues. The Jet Airways Group operates a fleet of 123aircraft. Several other planes have been grounded due to a host of reasons,including lack of spare parts.

Budget carrier IndiGo is going through massive turbulence onaccount of pilot shortage, leading to a truncated flight schedule. The airlinesaid earlier 30 of its flights have been affected. It has decided to curtailits schedule till March 31 by about 30 flights a day.

For sometime now, Air India grounded 17 aircraft due totechnical reasons. The national carrier has also cancelled severalinternational flights on account of low passenger yields.

The airline said six international flights from Delhi to places like Birmingham and Madrid have been cancelled.

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