Govt introduces airfare caps amid IndiGo flight disruptions

 

 

 

THE Government on Saturday capped the airfares in the range of Rs 7,500 to Rs 18,000 depending on the distance amid soaring air ticket prices due to the IndiGo flight disruptions. The fare limits, excluding applicable charges, are not applicable for business class and UDAN flights, the civil aviation ministry said in an order. However, the order did not provide clarity on whether the caps are applicable for economy class tickets or both economy and premium economy class tickets. Under the limits, for a flight flying up to 500 kilometres, the fares are capped at Rs 7,500 and for 500-1,000 kilometres, the ticket price cap is Rs 12,000. For flights operating 1,000-1,500 kilometres, the fares are limited at Rs 15,000 and for above, 1,500 kilometres, the cap is Rs 18,000.

 

The cap means that for a Delhi-Mumbai flight, which is covered in a distance of over 1,300 kilometres, the fare for at least the economy class is capped at Rs 18,000. The limits will be in place till the situation stabilises, the ministry said in a statement. It excludes User Development Fee (UDF), Passenger Service Fee (PSF), and taxes on air tickets. For at least five days in a row, IndiGo flight operations have significantly disrupted, with a large number of cancellations and delays causing hardships to thousands of passengers. In many cases, baggages have been misplaced. IndiGo cancels over 800 flights: DOMESTIC carrier IndiGo has said it cancelled over 800 flights on Saturday, much lower than Friday’s number of more than 1,000, and it is addressing all customer refund issues on “priority”.

 

The airline, which has been granted major relaxations by the DGCA in the second phase of the new flight duty and rest period norms for pilots, after it told the aviation safety regulator that it was facing significant transitional challenges in roster planning and crew availability under Phase-2 FDTL requirements, also said it is working “determinedly” to bring its operations back on track across the network. Authorities will take appropriate action in the matter of IndiGo flight disruptions depending on the inquiry committee findings, a senior government official said. Normalcy is restored at airports across the country and all necessary facilities are being provided to passengers, the Civil Aviation Ministry said. DGCA issues show cause notice to IndiGo CEO: Aviation watchdog DGCA issued a show cause notice to IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers seeking an explanation for the massive flight disruptions, according to sources. In the notice, the regulator said the large-scale operational failures indicate significant lapses in planning, oversight and resource management, the sources said. “... As the CEO, you are responsible for ensuring effective management of the airline but you have failed in your duty to ensure timely arrangements for conduct of reliable operations and the availability of requisite facilities to the passengers,” the notice read.