Domestic air travel likely to increase

By Our Special Correspondent

Domestic air travel is set to become costlier as the Civil Aviation Ministry has raised the lower as well as upper caps on fares by 9.83 to 12.82 percent, according to an official order. India had imposed lower and upper limits on airfares based on flight duration when services were resumed on May 25, 2020, after a two-month lockdown due to corona virus.

Jet fuel rates account for about 40% of an airlines running cost. Fares in many sectors have nearly doubled in the last two years or so. In an order dated August 12, 2021, the ministry increased the lower limit for flights less than 40 minutes of duration from Rs 2,600 to Rs 2,900 -- an increase of 11.53 percent. The upper cap for flights under 40 minutes of duration was increased by 12.82 percent to Rs 8,800.

Similarly, flights with duration between 40-60 minutes have a lower limit of Rs 3,700 instead of Rs 3,300 now, the order said. The upper cap on these flights was increased by 12.24 percent to Rs 11,000 on Thursday. In the early 2020s before Covid struck a one way Delhi to Mumbai economy class flight booked a week in advance was priced roughly at Rs. 3,500. For the Delhi to Bengaluru sector at the point in time it was about Rs. 5,000.