The government has asked airlines to exercise moderation and ensure a balance in pricing of air tickets amid a spike in airfares on certain routes especially after suspension of flights by crisis-hit Go First, according to a senior official.
While making it clear that there are no plans to regulate airfares, the official said there should not be a huge gap between the tickets sold in the lower and upper fare buckets by the airlines.
India is one of the fastest growing civil aviation markets in the world and domestic passenger traffic has been rising after being significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
After cash-strapped Go First stopped flying from May 3, there has been a significant rise in airfares on certain routes that were operated by the budget carrier. The routes include Delhi-Srinagar and Delhi-Pune. Also, the reduction of capacity due to the Go First crisis has come at a time when peak domestic air travel period is round the corner.
The senior civil aviation ministry official told reporters that airlines have been asked to ”exercise moderation” and ”maintain some kind of balance” in terms of pricing of tickets.
There cannot be a situation where there is a huge gap between the lowest and highest fare buckets, and passengers should not face hardships in terms of exorbitant fares, the official said on the condition of anonymity.
There are no plans to regulate airfares, the official said.