Govt mulls forming dedicated team to monitor surges in airfare
As the festive season nears, airfares are already climbing. Online portals said that certain routes have experienced substantial price hikes
The government is considering creating a dedicated team to monitor airfare spikes as the festive season approaches, people aware of discussions have said regarding a proposal that aims to address limitations in the current monitoring system, which averages fares and fails to detect sudden price increases.
Civil aviation minister K Ram Mohan Naidu, upon taking office, had acknowledged the significant fluctuations in airfares since the Covid-19 pandemic. “I feel the pain of passengers, being one myself,” Naidu said, pledging to review fare mechanisms.
An official close to the discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “The plan to have a dedicated team tracking fares is the minister’s top priority. He believes there should be a mechanism to protect consumers from high fares.”
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A former directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) official said that the current monitoring of fares is done by the tariff monitoring unit (TMU) in the DGCA, which has not been able to flag fare spikes since it monitors fares by averaging it out by taking the lowest and highest fares on a route.
“Due to the averaging of fares, fare spikes on certain days and certain sectors are missed... The new system – being discussed and to be finalised soon – will flag fare spikes that are higher than the normal high fares,” a senior official said.
“The current monitoring of fares that are followed at the DGCA will continue,” he added.
In view of the sky rocketing airfares not only during the festive season but also at times of natural calamities, the ministry had initiated keeping a vigil on fares and started sensitising the airlines to exercise moderation in pricing, and to keep passenger interest in mind.
Replying to a question in Parliament, then civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had said the ministry randomly monitored prices across 60 routes on various days leading up to a scheduled flight.
Although airfares have been deregulated since 1994, airlines are advised to self-regulate and exercise moderation in pricing.
Currently, the TMU under the DGCA oversees fares from 30 days to one day before scheduled flights. Airlines must upload fare sheets and report monthly changes.
Ajay Prakash, president of the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), cautioned, “It needs to be seen if the (new) team will have authority to act on airlines charging exorbitant fares. Otherwise, setting up this dedicated team will be futile.”
“Civil Aviation is a seasonal sector, and fares go up and down variably. There is no point in building dedicated teams until airfares will be deregulated,” an industry expert on condition of anonymity said.
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As the festive season nears, fares are already climbing. Online portals said that certain routes have experienced substantial price hikes for the upcoming festive season.
A return non-stop flight from Bengaluru to Delhi for late October showed a minimum fare of ₹26,000 rupees when checked on Friday.
“For the Diwali period, airfare on the Delhi-Chennai route has increased by 15%, while the Mumbai-Hyderabad route has spiked by 21%. Furthermore, fares on the Delhi-Goa and Delhi-Ahmedabad routes have risen by 19%. Other routes such as Delhi-Chennai, Mumbai-Bengaluru, and Delhi-Hyderabad are also seeing one-way fare increase of 10-15%. Bookings to destinations like Goa, Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala are leading the way apart from metros for festivals,” said Nishant Pitti, CEO and co-founder of EaseMyTrip.
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