The new civil aviation minister has got cracking on rising air fares barely a day after taking charge. Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu has said he will review rising air fares and crack the whip soon.
The new aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu has come down heavily on rising air fares in India. The minister has said that his ministry will review the rise in airfares soon and take appropriate measures to reign in airlines who resort to surge in air frares.
Naidu said that he has "suffered as a passenger myself'.
Airfares in India have been in the news for a while now. The current regime of a dyanmic pricing in airfares has been a huge issue with passengers. Volatile fluctuations in airfare prices are a common hurdle passengers have to cross for their air journey.
But the new aviation minister has said that he wanted to make air travel more accessible by tackling the issue of rising fares, as the sector sees rapid growth and carriers place record new plane orders.
What The Minister Said
"The prices of tickets have risen for whatever reason ... I really want to delve into this issue (and) how to make them a little more accessible, available for the people of this country," the minister said.
India is the world's fastest growing aviation market but domestic carriers have to contend with global supply chain disruptions that delay plane deliveries, contributing to higher air fares, executives say. A parliamentary panel proposed in February that the government should frame guidelines to control sudden surges in airfares, adding that "a route-specific fare ceiling can be examined".