No limits on domestic air fares from now; know what it means to travelers


No limits on domestic air fares from now;  know what it means to travelers

Are you planning to travel during the upcoming holiday season? If so, read on to learn how airline ticket fares could spoil or improve your mood.

According to the latest developments, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has removed the price caps on domestic air fares with effect from today. This move comes after a span of around 27 months and was initially implemented when COVID hit the nation.


Now, with the removal of price caps, all national airlines have the freedom to decide fares on domestic routes and will no longer be required to regulate air tickets based on the fare ceilings set by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The aviation ministry said earlier this month that the decision to remove air fare caps was made after careful analysis of daily demand and air turbine fuel (ATF) prices.

Following the announcement, Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia tweeted, saying that stabilization has begun and that they are confident the sector is set to grow in domestic traffic in the near future.

According to reports, ATF prices are also falling after leaping to record highs, mainly due to the Russia-Ukraine war that began in February.

Why has the government implemented these air fare caps?


The MoCA had previously imposed upper and lower limits on domestic air fares, with the intention of putting air fare under control, based on the duration of flights when services were resumed on 25 May 2020. With the implementation of the ceilings of the airfares, airlines have not been able to charge a passenger less than INR 2900 (excluding GST) and greater than INR 8800 (excluding GST) for domestic flights of less than 40 minutes.

If the reports are to go through, while the uppercase was meant to protect travelers from higher fares, the lower case was meant to protect airlines that were financially weaker.

What will be the effect of this removal of the air ticket cap; will airfares become more expensive?


According to the opinions of aviation experts, airfares should be stable. It could also happen that airlines gradually reduce fares or offer sales to drive demand and make more sales, which means that air fares could decrease in some sectors while popular sectors could see an increase in air fares.

Also, with the upcoming festival season, airfares may rise again in anticipation of pent-up travel demand.

However, as airlines could not offer discounts and sales due to airfare limits previously, travelers may be able to save on airline tickets, depending on where they decide to travel.

  1. What is the latest development on air fares in India?
    According to the latest developments, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has removed the price caps on domestic air fares with effect from today.
  2. Why has the government implemented these air fare caps?
    The MoCA had previously imposed upper and lower limits on domestic air fares, with the intention of putting air fare under control, based on the duration of flights when services were resumed on 25 May 2020. With the implementation of the ceilings of the airfares, airlines have not been able to charge a passenger less than INR 2900 (excluding GST) and greater than INR 8800 (excluding GST) for domestic flights of less than 40 minutes.
  3. What will be the effect of this removal of the air ticket cap; will airfares become more expensive?
    According to the opinions of aviation experts, airfares should be stable. It could also happen that airlines gradually lower their fares or offer sales to increase demand and increase sales.



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