New DGCA policy may bring down airfares for smaller cities during calamities

A British Airways airplane flies near a rainbow on its way to Heathrow Airport in London, Britain on July 23, 2017. (Reuters)

With an aim to bring down airfares for smaller cities, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is formulating a policy that will mandate airlines to increase capacity on non-trunk routes, reported the Economics Times quoting a senior DGCA official.

Non-trunk routes have limited airline operations giving those operating in these sectors the chance to keep fares high.

The policy will also include regulations that will require airlines to fix prices of flights to places facing natural calamities. This will help avoid sudden rise in fares at a time when other modes of transport cannot operate, the official said.

The move has come on the direction of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), after it received complaints from passengers about air carriers charging huge amounts on such routes.

As per the official, the idea is to increase flights on routes like Delhi-Leh, Delhi-Manali and Allahabad-Port Blair, where fares are high. Rise in capacity would in turn bring down the fares.

To ensure that passengers are not overcharged during natural or man-made disasters, the policy will mandate airlines to fix the fares to the last 10-day or 30-day average on that particular route, said the official.

However, it will be only be limited to non-trunk routes.

The policy is still in the formulation stage and talks are going on at the internal level of the regulatory body. The final policy will be drafted after holding discussions with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and various airlines, the official told ET.

The policy is expected to be announced by April.