The Federation of Indian Pilots has criticised the timing of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s (MoCA) decision to lift the domestic airfare cap from March 23, saying it will hurt passengers. The cap, introduced on December 6 after the IndiGo fiasco, had kept fares in check during high demand and rising fuel costs amid the West Asia conflict, when carriers such as Air India announced that a surcharge would be applied on all flights booked from March 12. With its removal, airlines can now price tickets freely based on demand.

Price concerns

While fliers have not complained about an increase in airfare yet, the next few days will be critical as prices could increase in proportion with demand. When mid-day examined airfare prices for the coming weeks, no heavy hikes were observed on most routes. Flights from Mumbai to Pune, however, were priced between Rs 7000 and Rs 11,000 for one-stop trips, as direct flights are not available on the route.